


Corde Desidirium Tuum

by LadySlytherin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Mirror of Erised, Next-Gen, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-27
Updated: 2012-09-30
Packaged: 2017-11-10 21:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/470706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySlytherin/pseuds/LadySlytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scorpius Malfoy had always known exactly what he wanted. So why, when faced with The Mirror of Erised, did he see nothing but fog?</p><p>He must use a summer abroad with his best friend's family to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about himself. Will he realize what he truly wants before it's too late or will he lose something he never imagined he'd want before he's had a chance to have it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wolfy Morasco](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Wolfy+Morasco).



> This is my first Scorpius/Hugo fic EVER and I'm quite looking forward to it. I've got a loose plan for it, but as the story grows, if there's something you'd like to see, please let me know! I'm happy to try to accommodate you, provided Wolfy (who the fic is for) doesn't mind.
> 
> I hope you enjoy. Happy reading! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was 7 years old when he imperiously declared – to both his parents and his grandparents, during dinner one evening – that he was gay. He did not use that precise word, as it wasn’t one he knew, but he got the point across quite well. He had been reading fairytales, as many small children do, and declared his intention to one day be swept off his feet by _“Prince Charming”_ which was very adorable. His mother had chidingly corrected him, of course, explaining that little girls were rescued by Prince Charming while little boys rescued princesses.

 

“Don’t be silly, Mommy.” Scorpius had scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t wanna fight a dragon or battle ogres. I wanna wait in my tower, all pretty, for Prince Charming to rescue _me_.”

 

While Astoria gaped like a fish, Lucius choked on his venison, and Draco laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair, Scorpius’s grandmother – Narcissa – spoke serenely. “Any prince would be quite lucky to have you, Scorpius. You’re certainly as lovely as any princess I’ve ever met.”

 

And with his grandmother’s blessing, Scorpius knew that – one day – he’d have his prince.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Scorpius was 11 when he met his prince. Albus Severus Potter was dashing and bold and funny and clever and wickedly devious. He was beautiful, with dark hair and green eyes and pale skin with a light dusting of freckles over his nose and cheeks. He was taller than Scorpius by several inches and outweighed him by nearly 50lbs, though he wasn’t chubby; Scorpius was just delicate. Albus smiled easily and laughed often and he was Sorted into Slytherin just moments after Scorpius was. The two boys were best friends right away and Scorpius knew that Albus was meant to be his prince. He was perfect.

 

The only problem, of course, was that Albus liked girls. When Scorpius realized this, he never faltered or wavered. If he couldn’t have Albus, he would simply have someone just like him. Someone fierce and stubborn and full of light; someone charming and sly and bold. He wanted someone strong and tall and powerful. And so he measured everyone against the standard that his best friend had set. And – as is most-often the case when someone tries to use someone unattainable as a standard – no one ever measured up.

 

And even when they got older and Scorpius shot up to 5’9”, becoming tall and graceful and slender and strong, he still wanted a prince to sweep him off his feet. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t delicate and weak anymore; childhood wishes are hard to kill and he longed to be cherished and protected by someone daring and charming and ridiculously Gryffindor in nature. Someone brave, but still ambitious and clever and witty and wicked. Someone just like Al, who had somehow ended up a few inches shorter than him, though a fair bit more muscular. Scorpius refused to give up on that hope.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Scorpius was nearly-16 when his life changed forever. He was finally, after years of begging, being allowed to go on a “Weasley Family Trip” with his best friend. The trips took practically the entire summer and involved traveling and close-quarters with Arthur and Molly, their 6 children plus 5 spouses and 1 significant other, 13 grandchildren (including Teddy Lupin), and the assorted significant others and friends of said grandchildren. They were loud and boisterous and insane and Scorpius – who had grown up in quiet, polite, well-mannered surroundings - loved every overwhelming second of the time he’d spent surrounded by them during the holidays. Especially Christmas, which was chaotic and warm and full of light and laughter; something which had been sorely lacking in the young man’s life, though his parents and grandmother certainly tried their best. But they weren’t quite able to drag the Manor out from under the shadow war had cast on it so long ago and Scorpius found the oppressive atmosphere hard to bear after falling in love with the way his friend’s family was. So he had spent the last few years begging his father to be allowed to go and – finally – Draco had agreed.

 

Now they were in London, just two days after the school term had ended, in some dusty old house that had once belonged to Scorpius’s grandmother’s family – the Blacks – gathering to prepare to travel the following day. It was evening and Weasleys were still pouring in, children and assorted guests in tow, filling the place up with noise and laughter and warmth. Scorpius had spent an hour or so chatting with his cousin Teddy (whose grandmother was his grandmother’s sister) about his upcoming wedding with Albus’s oldest cousin, Victoire Weasley. Now, however, he was lazily exploring the house with Albus and Rose and Lily.

 

“This is just the attic. Dad stores all kinds of crap up here.” Albus explained, pushing open another door and climbing the creaking, groaning stairs behind it. It was dim and dusty and the air smelled vaguely damp and old, like mildew and mold and stale air combined. There were old trunks and boxes and crates and even some furniture covered in white sheets. Albus started riffling through a trunk, saying. “We used to love poking through these when we were kids.”

 

Lily giggled, throwing open a wardrobe; at barely 14 she was a bit childish sometimes. Her Slytherin nature wasn’t as refined as Al’s and she often came across as annoying rather than coy. “Well, yeah, of course we did. There’s so much cool old stuff here from when the Blacks still owned the place.” She rolled her eyes at Scorpius and added. “Dad’s old house elf hoarded stuff back when they tried to clear it out when Sirius Black was still alive and then after the Second War Dad stuck it all up here and even forced Mundungus Fletcher to give back a bunch of what he’d filched. Sentiment and all.”

 

Scorpius nodded slowly, wandering towards the far side of the room. Rose was digging through a crate of books, making distressed sounds over the state some of them were in. A Ravenclaw to her very marrow, it was torture for her but she couldn’t seem to stop. Lily had pulled an incredibly old-fashioned wedding gown that was yellowed slightly with age out of the wardrobe and was holding it up to herself, looking contemplative. Albus was still digging through the trunk he’d opened, which was filled with the most random assortment of junk Scorpius had ever seen in his life. Broken quills, a wig, what looked like it might be a dead rodent of some sort, a claw from a dragon…and those were just the things that had spilled over the side while Albus shifted things around.

 

The blonde wandered over to a bunch of cloth-covered furniture and began peeking under the dust cloths in curiosity. A battered hat stand made of antlers had Scorpius pulling a face; it looked horrific and deserved to molder away in an attic in his opinion. A tattered chaise in faded blue velvet looked like it just needed some TLC and maybe a touch of house elf magic to make it presentable again. Perhaps when they graduated and he and Albus got the flat they’d been talking about, he’d ask Al to ask his dad if they could scrounge some furniture from up here. Surely there were other salvageable pieces as well.

 

The next cloth Scorpius peeked under revealed a mirror. A six-foot tall mirror, in fact. Tugging the cloth all the way off and letting it drape over a trunk, Scorpius stepped closer to the gilded frame of the mirror, studying it carefully. The piece radiated magic in the slow, steady way that older artifacts often did. It was beautiful, if a bit ostentatious, and Scorpius wondered what it did. Up near the top was an inscription that had him frowning.

 

“Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.” He said out loud, still frowning. “What the hell is that? It’s not Latin…”

 

Rose chuckled, looking up from the books she was still going through. “No, it’s mirrored. You know, written backwards?”

 

“It means, _‘I show not your face but your heart’s desire.’_ If you read it the other way, I mean.” Lily piped up; she’d abandoned the wedding dress and had a large dark-purple and lime-green sunhat on her head; it looked awful. “It’s the Mirror of Erised. Dad got it ages ago. It’s fun at parties.”

 

“So…it shows your desires?” Scorpius asked, intrigued. He knew what he wanted, mostly, but as a magical artifact perhaps the Mirror would show him his _actual_ “prince charming” and he could then set about finding the man. “That’s amazing.”

 

“It shows nothing more and nothing less than your deepest and most desperate desire.” Harry’s low, soothing voice spoke from the top of the stairs, startling the teens. He smiled and added. “Go ahead and try it, Scorpius. I’ve found that most people are surprised by what they see.”

 

Scorpius stepped in front of the mirror, then frowned. It was himself, though he noticed that the reflection wasn’t precise. He short, spiked-up hair was longer and falling loosely around his face and he was casually dressed in denims and a blue tee-shirt instead of his current black slacks and green button-up. He also looked lost and a little confused. And surrounding him was a strange white mist. The glass looked fogged-over, as though someone had breathed on it. Frowning more, Scorpius reached out to wipe the glass clean and realized the fogging was on the _other_ side of the mirror’s glass.

 

“What do you see?” Albus chirped cheerfully from next to him, grinning broadly. “Anything cool or really surprising? Mine was pretty simple last time I checked, but I was younger…might have to check again. See what it is now and all.”

 

“It’s fog.” Scorpius explained, watching as his reflection locked eyes with him – his eyes were intense and burning – and raised a hand. Using one finger, he began to write in the moisture clinging to the other side of the glass. “Lots of fog and me, looking lost.”

 

“Ah.” Harry nodded sagely. “That happens sometimes, when someone isn’t ready to face the truth of what they want.” He gave Scorpius a gentle, fatherly-sort of smile. “Maybe you should think about that this summer while we’re on our trip and you can take another look at the end of the summer.”

 

Scorpius nodded slowly, eyes glued on the words his mirror-self had written. _‘The heart has reasons that reason cannot know.’_ It was a quote, Scorpius knew, by Blaise Pascal. One he had never understood, in fact. Perhaps Mr. Potter was right and he needed to think.

 

“Yes…” He said carefully, turning away from the mirror purposefully. “Yes, I think I’d like to look again before school. Thank you, Mr. Potter.”

 

Harry flushed. “Sure thing. And please, don’t call me Mr. Potter. Harry is fine, or Uncle Harry like my nieces and nephews do. Or even Dad, if you’re comfortable with it.”

 

“Oh Merlin, call him Dad!” Albus crowed, turning away from the mirror with a wicked smile. “Then I can call your dad ‘Father’ like you do! That would be _hilarious_.”

 

Scorpius cracked a smile. “Until he hexed you, yes, it would be.” He agreed, laughing when Albus stuck out his tongue. “I’m joking, um…Dad.” He added, seeing the concerned look on Harry’s face. “Father adores Albus, I assure you. He’d probably find it funny to be called Father by him.”

 

Harry nodded, looking unconvinced, but let it go. “Right. Well, I just came up because Molly’s got food ready and I’m rounding up the grandkids and their guests. So…”

 

As everyone trundled out the attic, excited for some of Molly Weasley’s home cooking, Scorpius put the image in the mirror firmly out of his mind. He’d worry about it later. Little did he know just how much it would change things. If he had, he’d probably never have looked at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I want to clarify a point: prior to being asked to write this for my dear friend, my Next-Gen OTP was AS/S. It is now Scorpius/Hugo. I have fallen in love with this ship. I am thrilled to be writing this.
> 
> For a fair warning: The sequel to this will be NC-17, but this one is only PG-13. I'm having fun with a slow-build for our boys and quite enjoying it. So please, be patient! I promise there will be lots to love along the way! <3
> 
> Also, comments make me VERY happy! I love them more than anything else. I read every one and reply whenever someone asks a question or has an interesting point of view. So pretty-please leave me comments.
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	2. Chapter One

Scorpius dropped his bags in the entrance hall of the large house they were going to be staying in. They were in India; Scorpius couldn’t believe it. He’d never been off the Continent before and was quite excited to be there. International Portkeys sucked, however, and Scorpius wasn’t looking forward to doing it again anytime soon. Albus came up next to him, dropped his bags as well, and let out a low whistle that echoed off of the marble surrounding them.

 

“Bugger me; this place is _gorgeous_ , isn’t it?” He nudged Scorpius. “Wonder how much Dad had to dish out to rent this place…”

 

“Nothing, Al.” His Aunt Hermione’s voice startled him and he turned to stare at her with one eyebrow raised so she clarified. “An old friend of mine from school, Padma Patil – she was a Ravenclaw and in the DA; her twin sister Parvati was a Gryffindor in our year – offered to let us use this place when she heard we needed to come to Assam.”

 

“Is Uncle Nev here right now?” Rose asked, appearing behind her mother. Standing close to her, looking awed and a little anxious, was Neville Longbottom’s only child; a daughter named Alice. She was a year behind Rose at school and a Ravenclaw just like her, so she had shadowed Rose for years. “Alice wants to see him and Aunt Hannah.”

 

Hermione frowned for a moment, then turned a tender smile on Alice. “I don’t know if they’re here or not, sweetheart. I know they wanted to wait for us to arrive before they started exploring the Manas National Park, but they could still be at the Kaziranga National Park. This early into July I don’t know if it’s flooded yet or not.”

 

Alice just nodded, staying silent as she often was. Suddenly identical boys – both with golden-blonde hair, tan skin, wide blue eyes, and features that were somehow vaguely feline – appeared on either side of Alice, both grinning. “No need to fret, Alice. Our parents know we’re coming today.”

 

Scorpius thought the boy who’d spoken was Lorcan Scamander, which made the boy who spoke next his twin, Lysander. “That’s right. Mother and Father won’t have let Uncle Nev and Aunt Hannah go today, so they must be here somewhere.”

 

The children of Luna Lovegood and Rolf Scamander were as odd as their mother, with breathless voices and strange ideas. They moved like cats; all abrupt, jerking movements that somehow seemed graceful at the same time. They spoke infrequently. Despite being Slytherins – and only a year above Scorpius, in the same year as Albus’s older brother, James -  Scorpius didn’t know the twins very well. They often looked like they were staring at peoples’ souls rather than their faces and it unnerved Scorpius slightly.

 

The reason the twins and Alice were along for this trip – which was normally family-only – and, in fact, the reason for this jaunt to India in the first place, was because of their parents. Luna and Rolf often jaunted off to exotic places; the twins had spent 6 years in South America with their parents when they were younger, from the time they were 5 up until they’d started at Hogwarts. Albus had told him once that the twins hadn’t moved like cats until then; it made Scorpius wonder what they’d learned in the rainforests, but he’d never asked. This trip, however, was mostly for Professor Longbottom. He was looking for a very rare plant. Luna and Rolf – quite familiar with rainforests and mountains and various other terrains – had agreed to help Neville and Hannah as guides. They’d left for India at the start of Spring Break, leaving a substitute teacher in charge of Herbology classes for the remainder of the year and an assistant in charge of The Leaky Cauldron.

 

They were searching through two National Parks for this plant – some sort of rare, nearly-extinct orchid that nipped at passing ankles and was useful in potions – and since the Kaziranga Park was mostly flooded during July and August, they’d had to leave earlier. If they hadn’t found it yet – which Scorpius assumed they hadn’t, or why would they be there still? – then they’d begin searching the Manas Park. So the rest of them had come to spend some time in India and to deliver Alice, Lorcan, and Lysander to their parents. They’d be heading to Egypt at the end of July, without the Scamanders or the Longbottoms, as far as Scorpius knew, for the remainder of the “trip”.

 

Suddenly there was a delighted, high-pitched trilling sound. The twins turned around, in identical movements that were both fluid and sharp, and grinned Cheshire-Cat smiles. “Mother.” The twins chorused in identically-airy voices.

 

Rolf appeared behind his wife in the doorway and held out his arms. The twins flitted across the room and hugged their parents. Hannah and Neville appeared moments later, looking pink-cheeked and out of breath, as though they’d had to run to catch up with the other two. Alice let out a desperate little sound and raced across the room; she had never had to be away from both of her parents at once before, since Neville taught at Hogwarts. It had been quite hard on her. Scorpius and Albus glanced at each other and rolled their eyes; it was sweet, in a way, to see the reunions, but a little bit soppy and Hufflepuff-ish and that had to be acknowledged.

 

Harry suddenly cleared his throat and drew the attention of the 39 other people gathered closely together around piles of luggage. “Well, then. Since everyone is present, I thought I’d go over some basics. No one under 15 is allowed to leave the grounds unless they’re with someone older.” There were sharp cries of dismay from some of the younger kids, but Harry glared and they quieted quickly. “No complaints. We’ll do our best to accommodate everyone in terms of where they want to go and what they want to see, but I’m not losing children in the rainforest or the mountains or even in the bazaar. Are we clear?”

 

Everyone nodded, though there were still grumbles, and Harry continued. “There are servants here and they’ll be doing the cooking and some general cleaning. But you are responsible for straightening your own rooms. They’ll change the sheets, but you will make your own beds each morning. They’ll do the laundry, but you will put it away and you will gather your own dirty things and drop them down the laundry chute.” More grumbling, though much quieter, and Harry added. “If you want food between meals, ask a servant, since I won’t have you messing up the kitchens or accidentally making yourselves sick by making something too spicy because you don’t know what an ingredient is. So long as your requests are reasonable, they’ll happily make whatever you want.”

 

Everyone nodded again and Hermione stepped up next to Harry and quickly set up an easel. She propped up a large poster board on it; it had a partial floor plan for the house on it. “These are the rooming arrangements for while we’re here. Everyone is paired off.” She gave everyone stern looks. “Couples who are still school-age are _not_ roomed together.” There were groans and protests and Hermione’s sharp voice cut into the din with ease. “Not a word of protest! The four boys with girlfriends present are being roomed near all of us adults; the girls and the boys without girlfriends present are rooming on the other side of the house, in a separate wing. There will be _no sneaking about_ or I’ll ward your rooms personally!”

 

Albus snickered when his cousin Dominique continued to grumble; Roxanna – another cousin - was glaring mutinously from beside Domi. They both had their boyfriends along with them. Scorpius smirked; he was quite pleased that the couples were being kept separate. Listening to Roxie squeal _“Ollie!”_ when her boyfriend – Oliver Boot – had arrived at Grimmauld Place in London had been nauseating. And Domi didn’t seem to understand that not everyone wanted to watch her shove her tongue down Alexander Nott’s throat every 5 minutes.

 

Scorpius shifted closer to the front of the room, curious as to who was in the rooms nearest to the one he’d be sharing with Albus. Molly Anne – one of Albus’s many cousins, who had just finished her 2nd year – was giggling with her friend (a fellow-Gryffindor called Krystall Bowers) and blocking his view of part of the board. Scorpius rolled his eyes at the young girls and turned his eyes to the far right side of the board, glancing over the names.

 

It seemed to be predominantly the couples. His cousin Teddy and Victoire, the Scamanders, Professor Longbottom and his wife, Al’s grandparents, then his Uncle Bill and his Veela-aunt, Fleur. The next row of rooms was Al’s parents, then Rose’s parents, then George and his wife Angelina, Molly Anne’s parents – Percy and his wife Audrey, and then Al’s Uncle Charlie and his lover (and fellow dragon-tamer), a Romanian man named Serge Dalca. He flicked his eyes to the left again and noticed that James Sirius was rooming with his cousin, Freddie. Which meant that the final bedroom in that half of the house was being shared by Alexander and Oliver. Being a Slytherin and a Gryffindor respectively, Scorpius wasn’t sure how well _that_ was going to work out, but he didn’t say anything.

 

Molly finally moved away, dragging her friend Krystall with her, and Scorpius looked at the other half of the house. His eyes widened as he spotted his name at the top, in the room across from Molly Anne and Krystall. _“Louis & Scorpius” _the label on the little room read. The room next to it read _“Albus & Hugo” _in little letters. He felt Albus step up behind him and read the words; he knew the instant Albus had realized they weren’t being roomed together. The other boy practically bristled.

 

“Dad!” He protested loudly, turning to look at Harry in horror. “Why am I sharing with Hugo?”

 

Harry sighed, looking vexed. “Because James and Freddie need to be kept away from the girls, and so do Alexander and Oliver.” Albus started to open his mouth and Harry cut him off. “No, Al. You know Louis walks all over Hugo. He’s too demanding. And Louis refuses to room with you.”

 

“So he just gets what he wants?” Albus snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring. “How is that fair? He’s so _spoiled!_ ”

 

“Yes, he is.” Harry snapped back, giving his son an identical glare and mimicking his stance. “And he’s got a Veela’s temperament, seeing as he is one, and an overprotective Veela for a mother, not to mention two Veela sisters. I’m not dealing with three angry female Veela because I said no to the precious, only-male-Veela-alive, Louis.”

 

“It’s alright.” Scorpius said, touching Albus’s shoulder soothingly in an attempt to calm him. “You know Louis only likes me because I’m tidy and can speak French. And I have fashion sense.” He grinned when Albus rolled his eyes and added. “If he gets too obnoxious I’ll just come bother you in your room.”

 

Harry turned a stern look on Scorpius. “You will not put Hugo out of his own room, is that clear? I won’t have you two bullying him.”

 

Scorpius rolled his eyes; Hugo was a shy, reserved Hufflepuff. “Contrary to rumors about Slytherins, _Dad,”_ He stressed the title with just a light trace of sarcasm. “We don’t actually go around kicking defenseless puppies.” The petite boy with his fair skin, sprinkling of freckles, curly auburn hair, and huge, innocent blue eyes had always reminded Scorpius of a puppy.

 

Harry chuckled. “Yes, well. As long as you can play nice, I don’t mind you spending most of your time away from Louis. Just…try not to offend him or _I’ll_ be the one who has to try to soothe angry Veela since you’re Al’s guest.”

 

Scorpius nodded. “Don’t worry; Louis and I understand each other.” The boy was a Slytherin and a year below him and Albus; and Scorpius did, indeed, know how to deal with the beautiful, spoiled Veela. “I promise there won’t be any trouble because of me.”

 

Harry considered the boy who looked so much like – and yet was nothing like in many other ways – Draco Malfoy, then nodded slowly. “See that there isn’t.”

 

Scorpius sighed and walked back over to his bags, hefting them up and following Albus as they began to navigate the huge house. It was beautiful, if a bit labyrinthine in its design. When they finally reached their rooms, Albus chucked his things onto his bed and followed Scorpius into his. Louis wasn’t there yet, which Scorpius was grateful for. He looked over the two beds and chose the one closer to the small door that led out into a garden area, full of raised flower beds and benches and a large oval pool with a fountain in the center. Albus flopped down onto it as soon as Scorpius set his wand down on the nightstand; he might not be able to use it, but it still came everywhere with him.

 

“What’s with this white gauze everywhere?” Albus whinged, using his foot to nudge some of the white netting that was draped around both the beds (and had been around both the beds in Albus’s room as well). “It’s so…I dunno. Girly.”

 

“It’s to keep out mosquitos, you twit.” Scorpius teased, rolling his eyes as he began unpacking his things with care and precision. “And other bugs as well, I’m sure.” He peeled off his sweat-soaked button-up shirt with a grimace. “And ugh, I am _not_ going to fare well in this heat if I don’t get some proper clothing soon. This is dreadful.”

 

Albus sighed, but nodded. His blue tank top was plastered to his pale skin as well and his messy black hair was slick with sweat. “So, who else is roomed together? I didn’t even look…”

 

Scorpius made a small noise of annoyance as he tugged on a white tee-shirt and then pulled off his shoes, socks, and trousers. “You _never_ pay enough attention to things.” He scolded as he tugged his swim trunks out of one of his suitcases and shucked his boxers to tug them on. “Your brother is with Freddie, Alex and Oliver are together, Rose is with Alice, Molly Anne is with her friend Krystall, Roxie and Domi are together,” He ticked off people on his fingers as he struggled to remember the floor plan. “Lorcan and Lysander are obviously together, your sister is with Lucy, and ‘Mint is with ‘Phim.”

 

“Why do you call her that?” Albus asked, rolling onto his stomach to quirk an eyebrow at his best friend of 5 years. “You know she hates it and then Freddie gets snarly because his girlfriend is whinging.”

 

“I call her that _because_ she hates it.” Scorpius drawled, grinning wickedly. “And also because Seraphim Smith isn’t in the slightest bit angelic. She ought to be a Slytherin rather than a Hufflepuff, heritage aside, and everyone knows it. So I’ll call her ‘Phim all I like.”

 

Albus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well…be careful, because if Freddie hears you calling her that he’ll flip. And if James hears you calling Araminta “Mint” he’ll freak out too. You know how jealous he gets.”

 

Scorpius snorted; he’d resumed unpacking as soon as he was dressed in cooler clothing. “I’ve known Araminta Zabini since we were in nappies.” He pointed out. “I’ll damn well call her ‘Mint if it pleases me to do so. And besides.” He grinned saucily at Albus. “Seeing as I’m as queer as a silver Snitch, James is an idiot if he gets jealous of me.”

 

“No one ever said my brother wasn’t an idiot.” Albus drawled back, grinning as well. “But yeah, I suppose you’ve known Araminta for most of your lives so he should just get over it. But if he hexes you, don’t come complaining to me. I warned you.”

 

“Yes, yes. Beware the psychotic Gryffindor.” Scorpius waved dismissively as he finished tucking his things away – he hadn’t brought much, since he’d know he’d have to buy climate-appropriate clothing anyway – and moved towards the little wooden door. “I’m going to go jump in that huge pool of water in that garden-thing out there now because it’s too bloody hot to even _breathe_ and I cannot bear it.”

 

Albus chuckled. “I’ll be out as soon as I change, then.” He told his friend, heading for the door to the hallway to do just that.

 

Scorpius watched him leave, lamenting – not for the first time – that his best friend was so regrettably straight. He and Albus were perfectly suited in every other way. They got along perfectly, understood each other with just a glance, and often thought the same things at the same times. They were very rarely out of synch at all and when they were, it never lasted long. It would have been terribly easy to fall into a relationship with Albus and Scorpius had often thought that that was how it ought to be. When you found that one person you were meant to be with, you should just slide together with them. No fuss or fight about it; just _click-click-click_ as everything locked you together perfectly.

 

 _‘Yes,’_ He thought as he exited the room and walked quickly across the hot, flat pieces of slate that made up the walkway in the garden, heading for the fountain and it’s pool of cold, refreshing water. _‘When I finally fall in love, it ought to be easy. Just like it is with Al.’_

 

Little did he know…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the inordinate amount of Original Characters in this. There weren't originally that many; it sort of exploded while I was creating the rooming chart for India.
> 
> Also, if anyone is confused about who is whose guest or ages or Houses or who the parents of a character are, just ask. I'll happily clarify! <3
> 
> Also, I did a LOT of research about India in general, the state of Assam, both Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, and clothing-types. But I'm not infallible by any means. So if at some point I mess up, I apologize.
> 
> Please leave me comments; they make my day! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	3. Chapter Two

Hugo was wandering the gardens a week into their stay in India, feeling restless. It was early; the sun had only been up for half an hour, in fact, and the air was bearable, if humid.  Hugo had always had trouble sleeping; he woke up with the sun and had for as long as he could remember. Not wanting to disturb Albus (who was a notoriously light sleeper), Hugo had dressed in dark blue wrap-pants and a white vest he’d gotten at the bazaar a few days earlier and left the room as quietly as he could. It was still cool enough to dress normally now, but in a few hours the heat would start to become unbearable and it was easier to just dress for it right away rather than changing later.

 

He’d considered going into the interior garden, but the pool of water and its fountain tended to draw the others as soon as they awoke and Hugo wasn’t in the mood for company. He just wanted some time to himself; to think. He found it a bit annoying that he would be 15 on September 11th which meant he was only going into his 4th year, just like his cousin Lily Luna. Of course, Lily was barely 14, so it was a bit different. And despite how soon he would be 15, his Uncle Harry refused to allow him off the grounds on his own. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, except that because he was so quiet most of the time, his cousins tended to forget about him and leave him behind.

 

He tried not to hold it against them. His parents had infamous tempers and so did his sister, Rose; in truth, nearly all of his cousins had terrible tempers as well. It was a Weasley family trait. Growing up in an environment with so many volatile personalities, Hugo had learned early-on that staying calm was better for everyone. So he didn’t get angry; he just sighed and let it go. And took many, many walks around the gardens to help alleviate his boredom. It wasn’t too bad; there was a lot to see. And James and Freddie had let him tag along to the bazaar two days early on Saturday. And Rosie had let him go with her and Alice to the Manas National Park to see the elephants three days before that, on Wednesday, which had been pretty neat. So it wasn’t too bad, considering.

 

He rounded a corner in the path and came to an abrupt halt, his breath catching in his throat. Scorpius Malfoy – best friend of his cousin, Albus – was in a wide area of converging pathways in the garden. He was barefoot, since the slate pathway tiles weren’t yet hot from the sun this early in the day, and bare-chested as well. All he wore was a pair of loose, white dimijie pants. The thick waistband hugged lean hips and a slender waist; Hugo licked his lips at the faintly defined abs. Scorpius was sun-bronzed, a trait Hugo assumed he’d inherited from his mother since the few times he’d seen Draco Malfoy, the man had been paler than death. His platinum-blonde hair  wasn’t gelled and spiked up; the humidity made it melt so the older boy had given up on it their second day there. Hugo liked it falling soft and naturally as it was and often wondered how Scorpius would look with slightly longer hair.

 

As Hugo watched, Scorpius shifted his feet to hip-width apart, raised his arms above his head, and curled his body downwards until his palms were flat on the ground, just a few inches in front of his feet. Hugo’s blue eyes widened; he’d never imagined Scorpius could bend that way.  Scorpius walked his hands forward about four and a half feet so his torso and legs formed an inverted-V. Then, in an incredibly graceful and controlled movement, he raised his left leg straight up into the air and drew his right arm up alongside his body, so his weight rested solely on his right foot and his left hand. His body – from his left wrist to his right toes – formed a perfectly straight line at a 45 degree angle from the ground. Hugo had never seen anything more beautiful.

 

He must have made some small sound because grey eyes opened and that aristocratic head turned, pinning him with a serene but intense gaze. Still holding his pose, Scorpius spoke. “Hello, Hugo. You’re up early.”

 

Hugo nodded, feeling breathless and giddy. “Yes. I usually am.” He tipped his head to the side, staring at Scorpius with adoring blue eyes, took a tentative step closer, and asked. “What are you doing?”

 

“Yoga.” Scorpius answered, smiling easily. “It helps me control my temper.” He moved –seemingly effortlessly – in the reverse of his previous movements. He lowered his leg and arm, walked his hands back towards his feet, and uncurled his long, lean body. A faint sheen of sweat was glistening on his golden skin as he asked. “Would you like to learn? You’re slender enough and young enough that you ought to be flexible enough to not have any trouble getting started.”

 

“Oh, I...I couldn’t possibly…that is…” Hugo stammered, flushing a bright red. He took a calming breath and tried again. “I mean, I can’t imagine moving as gracefully as you do or balancing that way. And I’d hate to be a bother.”

 

“It’s no bother at all.” Scorpius assured the other boy, holding out a hand. “Come on, then. We’ll start with a simpler version of what I was just doing, which is downward dog.”

 

Hugo nodded, his heart pounding in his chest as he carefully moved closer and took Scorpius’s hand. The older boy smiled again. “Take your vest off; it’ll be too constricting.” He instructed smoothly.

 

Hugo did as he was bid, laying the vest carefully over a nearby stone bench, and then rejoining the Slytherin in the middle of the slate clearing. “So…what am I supposed to do?” He asked, feeling awkward and self-conscious and terribly scrawny next to the faintly-toned Scorpius.

 

Scorpius smiled again and it sent Hugo’s pulse skittering into overdrive; how had he never noticed how beautiful his cousin’s best friend was before? “First we need to get you into what we call beginner’s pose. I don’t want you worrying about bending and walking out like I do for now; that’ll come with time. Start out on your hands and knees, with your palms at shoulder-width and your knees and feet at hip-width.”

 

Hugo obeyed, feeling clumsy and ungainly as he did so. Which was odd, because since he lacked his father’s lanky height – and in fact favored his Aunt Ginny’s slender, petite build – he had never before felt like that, nor had he expected to. “What now?” He asked, looking up at Scorpius.

 

“Now you’re going to move your hands forward a few inches, spread your fingers wide apart to give you better balance,” He watched as Hugo obeyed, then continued. “Now curl your toes under and press your hips upwards until your body forms an inverted-V. Your knees will likely be slightly bent…”

 

Scorpius trailed off when Hugo pressed up easily into an upside-down ‘V’ with his legs perfectly straight; it wasn’t an easy thing to do. “I, um…” Hugo felt breathless again; his face flushed slightly as he murmured softly. “I’m pretty flexible, actually…”

 

“Yes, I see that.” There was amusement in Scorpius’s voice as he circled Hugo, studying his pose. “Well, before we advance you, I’d like you to do some small pulses in this form to help you learn to keep your balance better.”

 

Hugo nodded slightly, even though he wasn’t precisely sure what Scorpius meant. Suddenly he felt Scorpius behind him. He could feel the taller teen’s body curling over his ass and then hands were on his waist and hard thighs were pressed against his backside and the length of Scorpius’s bare torso was hovering mere inches from the skin of Hugo’s back and Hugo thought he could die happy just then because it was like being surrounded by the heat and strength of the other teen.

 

And then it got better as Scorpius’s low, husky voice purred from above him. “Now I want you to rock forward slightly. You’re going to take more of your weight onto your hands, rocking up onto the balls of your feet as you do so. You’ll hold it for a count of 5 breaths, then rock back down. Do it 10 times. I’ll keep you stable.”

 

Hugo obeyed, struggling not to whimper as Scorpius shifted with him, pressing their bodies closer together each time he rocked up onto his toes. The Slytherin was a solid wall of heat behind him and it was so distracting that he had to use every ounce of his will-power to focus on his breathing and his body’s movements. He felt slightly unbalanced when he rocked forward, but Scorpius was as good as his word and used his hands and his own well-balanced frame to make sure Hugo didn’t fall. When he finished the ten repetitions, he was panting and shaking but not from exertion. He felt shivery and weak in the knees and he wasn’t sure how much of this sort of thing his heart could take.

 

“Are you alright?” Scorpius asked as he unfolded from above the smaller boy. As soon as Scorpius had stepped back, Hugo sat down on the slate paving stones, trembling; if he stood, his loose pants would do nothing to hide his present state of arousal from the older boy. And since he’d had Scorpius pressed quite closely to him, he knew the other boy was _not_ similarly affected.

 

“I’m just…not used to doing anything physical, really.” Hugo excused himself, breathing hard and feeling flushed. “Sorry. I said I shouldn’t bother you…”

 

“Nonsense.” Scorpius replied, smiling gently. “I told you, it’s not a bother. Yoga is difficult in the beginning, but it gets easier with time and practice. Keep doing that move a few times a day and practice getting into the starting pose by bending and walking your hands out. When you feel confident with it, come back out here at sunrise and I’ll show you more.”

 

Hugo nodded, biting his lip and thinking of Headmistress McGonagall in short-shorts to help fix his problem so he could stand without humiliating himself. “Right. Well. Thank you, Scorpius. I just…I’m going to go. Leave you to…this. Yeah. Bye.”

 

He had just snatched his vest off the bench and was turning to flee when Scorpius called out. “Hey, are you going to Manas tomorrow with everyone? We’re supposed to be doing some sort of group nature walk thing…”

 

“Oh, um…” Hugo turned halfway back around, looking startled. “I don’t know. I…no one mentioned it to me, so I…” He stopped, blushing again, feeling mortified. He’d just admitted that none of his family had remembered to invite him, after all.

 

Scorpius’s heart softened at the miserable look on the poor Hufflepuff boy’s face; clearly Hugo was often forgotten about by his cousins. “Well, Al and I are going. You should come along. Al is all…outdoorsy and crap, you know, and he’s sure to race ahead with James and Freddie and leave me with just the girls for company.”

 

Hugo flushed darker at the fact that Scorpius wasn’t grouping him with his “outdoorsy” and more-masculine cousins, but felt a small amount of pleasure at the fact that he was considered better company than the girls at least. And Scorpius clearly didn’t group _himself_ with the outdoorsy guys either, so perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. “I…yes, I’d like that.” He smiled slightly, ducking his head. “Thank you for thinking to invite me, Scorpius.”

 

“Sure.” Scorpius couldn’t help the fond smile curving his lips; Hugo was so easy to make happy. He really was like a puppy; just a little affection and he was thrilled. It was terribly sweet. “And please, call me Pi from now on. Scorpius is such a mouthful.”

 

Hugo nodded and rushed off quickly. He felt like maybe there was something – or at least a _possibility_ of something – between him and Scorpius. And wouldn’t that be lovely? To have someone who would remember to invite him along to do things…to have someone to do things with, just the two of them…to have someone to study with and snuggle with and just…just _be_ with. And holding his joy close to his heart, Hugo whistled all the way back to the common area on the “girls” side of the interior garden, where he knew breakfast would be laid out.

 

Behind him, Scorpius had resumed his yoga, putting the brief encounter with Hugo easily out of his mind as he focused on his muscles and their movements. The younger boy was sweet, but easy to dismiss. He wasn’t even sure why he’d asked about the trip to Manas Park the next day, except that it seemed like the thing to do. Hugo was just so shy and sensitive; he couldn’t imagine being anything less than kind and protective of the boy. He had no idea of the direction of Hugo’s thoughts at that moment and if he had…well, he’d have probably laughed. To himself, of course, so as not to hurt Hugo’s tender feelings, but still. The very idea would have sent him into paroxysms of hilarity. Foolish boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I have actually studied yoga (albeit very briefly) and I did my best to keep the poses in this scene (and in later scenes) quite as accurate possible. If something sounds off, I apologize; it could be that the pose simple IS that odd (it is yoga, after all) or it could be that I had trouble explaining it. Yoga poses aren't exactly easy to put into words.
> 
> I also apologize for how slow Scorpius is (both in this scene and in later scenes) and I do promise that he will, at some point, pull his lovely head out of his gorgeous ass and stop being stupid. In the meantime...well, just bare with me, please.
> 
> For those who do not know what wrap-pants look like, or what dimijie pants look like, please use google-images and take a peek. Our boys would look quite fetching in either of them, I assure you! ^_~
> 
> And lastly...pretty-please leave me lovely comments? As thrilling as it is to get kudos (it does make me smile) and as much as I squee when someone bookmarks one of my fics (and OMR, I love that I get to SEE that!), there's nothing quite like getting comments to brighten my mood and make my whole day just that little bit better.
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	4. Chapter Three

Manas National Park was humid and damp. Freddie, James, and Albus (along with Roxanne and Lily) had indeed run off ahead, following a laughing Rolf as he led the way. Luna was hanging back with the rest of them – namely a miserably-whinging Dominique and her boyfriend Alex, Lucy, Rose, and Seraphim, in addition to Scorpius and Hugo– though she looked like she wished she could follow her husband. Suddenly the twins appeared (Scorpius had no idea from where) and told their mother. “Father wants you to catch up. We’ll watch the others for you.”

 

Luna nodded and flitted off, beaming. The twins smiled at them all, looking devious. “Come on.” Said the one Scorpius thought was Lysander. “We’ll show you something cool.”

 

Grumbling, the girls moved to follow the twins onto a different path then the one Luna had gone up. Hugo and Scorpius exchanged cautious looks, then Hugo whispered. “They’re pretty clever. I don’t think they’d let any of us get hurt.”

 

Scorpius agreed and sighed. “I suppose they wouldn’t. Still, I’m nearly ready to call it quits. I swear, if I see another bug or trip over another root, I might scream.”

 

Hugo giggled and the sound was light and pleasant. Their entire group was dressed in ‘shalwar kameez’ which were essentially dimijie pants and specially-designed, long, tunic-type shirts that were slit up to one’s waist on either side to allow a greater freedom of movement. It was the best way to keep cool and the girls had taken to the jewel-toned, embroidered fabrics quite happily. The boys, of course, were wearing masculine versions that were simpler and plainer, but still elegant and lovely. Still, it was hot and sticky and the air smelled of rain. Scorpius was more than ready to go back to the house. He trudged grudgingly after their group, with Hugo trotting quietly along beside him.

 

Suddenly Seraphim was gasping and clutching at Domi’s arm, pointing up at a tree. Everyone stopped to look and there, perched on an overhead branch, was a cat. A gorgeous, golden cat with faint black spotting. It was relaxing on a high branch, staring down at them with unnerving intensity. It’s long tail flicked back and forth restlessly. Scorpius took a wary step back, instinctively grabbing Hugo’s arm and pulling the boy along with him. Though not nearly as large as a tiger, or even a leopard, this cat radiated power and strength and danger, even in its current relaxed and non-threatening pose.

 

“It’s an Asian Golden Cat.” Lorcan purred, his eyes locked on the animal. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

 

Lysander laughed breathlessly and moved closer to the tree the cat was in. “They’re lovely animals and share many traits with domestic cats, despite being wild and deadly.” He grinned and added. “In captivity they’re quite docile, but ask locals and they’ll tell you how fierce they are.”

 

The cat suddenly pushed to its feet and stalked back and forth along the branch, still staring down at them all. Several of the girls – namely Lucy and Seraphim – made frightened little sounds. Hugo, however, tipped his head to the side and said in an undertone meant for Scorpius’s ears only. “The twins move like that…”

 

Scorpius was startled; he’d been thinking the same thing. He turned to stare at Hugo in shock. “I was just thinking that. I mean, I’ve always thought they moved like cats, but it’s more that they move like _wild_ cats than anything else.” Then he turned to where Seraphim was making whimpering sounds and drawled. “I can’t believe you’re frightened of a _cat_ , ‘Phim. Really, now.”

 

Seraphim turned dark eyes on him and glared, tossing her long, sandy-blonde braid her shoulder. “It could _kill us_ , Scorpius!” She hissed, bristling. “And _don’t call me ‘Phim!”_

 

“It’s a National Park, ‘Phim.” His tone was dry and bored as he rolled his eyes at her. “If the animals habitually killed people, they wouldn’t let us in. Besides, we’ve got wands and in a life-or-death scenario even those of us who are underage can use magic.”

 

When they’d begun walking again a few minutes later, Hugo touched Scorpius’s arm lightly. The blonde glanced down at the redhead with a raised eyebrow. “How come you’re so mean to Seraphim?”

 

“I’m not _mean_ to her.” Scorpius protested, making a face. “She’s just…I mean, we…it’s hard to explain, alright? But ‘Phim and I understand each other. Don’t worry about it.” He reached out and tweaked Hugo’s nose lightly, asking. “Have you been practicing your yoga?”

 

Hugo blushed and nodded shyly. “Yes. I, um…I thought maybe I’d come out in another day or two so you could show me more. If…if that’s alright, I mean.”

 

Scorpius chuckled, turning laughing silver eyes on Hugo. “Of course it’s alright. And you’re welcome to watch me any time, even if you don’t participate. That way you can see some of the more advanced poses in action.”

 

Hugo blushed a little darker and nodded again. “I’d like that, Pi.”

 

Scorpius shook his head at how shy and easily-embarrassed Hugo was. _‘Eager little puppy…’_ He thought fondly as the twins pointed out some sort of golden monkey-lemur-thing as they passed it.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The front door to the house exploded inwards with a burst of wind and rain and shrieking laughter as the teens tumbled over one-another to get out of the wet. The rain had started abruptly and in an instant downpour, so Harry had quickly gathered the teens together and created a Portkey from a fern to send them back to the house. It paid off to be the Head Auror sometimes; he was authorized to create Portkeys whenever he needed to. Even in foreign countries. But as fast as Harry had been, they were all still soaked through as they flooded into the entrance hall.

 

Albus was breathless with laughter; he’d always loved a good storm. Scorpius was the same way. “Come on, Pi. Let’s go change in my room.”

 

“Sure. Oh, wait…” Scorpius turned to scan the room quickly. “If we’re going up, let’s snag Hugo.” Albus gave him a funny look and Scorpius rolled his eyes. “It _is_ his room too, Al.”

 

Scorpius spotted the younger boy, standing off to the side and shivering. He crossed the room and touched his shoulder lightly to get his attention. Hugo turned slowly around, moving sluggishly. “Oh. P-pi.” His voice was soft and breathless and Scorpius was startled to see the boy’s lips were turning purple. “D-did you n-need s-some-th-thing?” The boy’s teeth were chattering.

 

“Merlin, you’re _freezing!”_ Scorpius exclaimed. He touched Hugo’s pale cheek and was concerned by how icy his skin was. “Come on. You need to get out of those clothes and, like, take a hot bath or something. I don’t want you getting sick.”

 

He hurried Hugo back over to Albus and explained about how cold the boy was. Albus shrugged as they began walking through the house. “Yeah, but Hugo always gets cold easily. Right, Hugo?”

 

Hugo nodded, his teeth still chattering. “Mum s-says I h-have a d-deli-c-cate c-consti-t-tution…” He stuttered around his shivers.

 

  
Scorpius tutted as they neared the hallway for their rooms, turning to Albus. “Go and get something else for Hugo to wear, okay? I’m taking him straight to the bathroom. He needs to warm up and moist heat is the best way to do that.”

 

Albus nodded, trusting his friend’s judgment. Not many people knew it, but Scorpius was planning to become a Healer after graduating. “Alright. Something warm, yeah?”

 

“No, just something normal.” Scorpius said as he nudged Hugo down the other hallway towards the bathrooms. “Pajama pants and a tee-shirt should be fine.”

 

Albus nodded again and headed off to change his own clothing and grab stuff for Hugo, calling back over his shoulder. “I’ll grab you something too, alright?”

 

“Thanks!” Scorpius called back, hurrying after Hugo’s sluggish form. He caught up easily and his heart twisted with an uncomfortable sense of fear. “Come on, then…no point wasting time.” He murmured just seconds before scooping the petite, trembling boy up into his arms.

 

Hugo whimpered softly, but instantly snuggled closer to the warmth of Scorpius. He hated how easily he got cold and how often he’d been sick as a child. He was usually more careful than this; he shouldn’t have gone on the nature walk. It often rained in the afternoon and he _knew_ that. But Scorpius had invited him and he’d wanted to spend time with the other boy. It had been a stupid thing to do but now, cradled carefully in Scorpius’s arms, Hugo couldn’t find it in himself to regret it.

 

They reached the bathroom in a matter of moments; Scorpius’s long-legged stride ate up the distance easily. He carefully set Hugo down on a chair and turned towards one of the showers. “Strip.” He ordered as he fiddled with the knobs and got the water running.

 

Hugo plucked at the wet, clinging fabric with slightly-numb, shaking hands. It wasn’t cooperating. The Slytherin boy made a small noise and then long-fingered, elegant hands were brushing his away and he was being stripped by his crush. If he hadn’t been so damnably cold, he’d have been aroused in a heartbeat. As it was, his blood was pumping far too sluggishly for that to be an issue. He was glad for that, since it prevented him from having to explain _why_ he was aroused. It also prevented him from blushing, which was a nice side-benefit.

 

Soon he was sitting in the chair, shivering almost violently, while Scorpius dropped the wet clothes down a laundry chute. He glanced over at the pale, shaking boy curled on the plush chair, thought for a moment, then sighed and stripped his own shirt off, dropping it down the chute as well. Then he walked quickly back across the room, gathered the naked boy into his arms, and stepped into the shower he’d turned on before.

 

The combination of the warmth radiating off of Scorpius and the steamy heat of the water was delightful; Hugo felt the heat soaking into his body and seeping down towards his bones. He wound his arms around Scorpius’s neck and snuggled closer, still shivering. Scorpius just stood under the double-spray of the twin showerheads and held Hugo closely. The icy feel of the boy’s skin and the way he shook, as well as the soft sound of his teeth chattering, effectively drove any thoughts of whether or not this was appropriate from his mind. His sole focus was getting the boy warm before he took ill.

 

Finally Hugo stopped shivering and the chill left his skin. His snow-white skin took on a pink tinge from the heat of the water and Scorpius let out a relieved sigh. He carefully lowered the boy so he could stand on his own and grinned when Hugo immediately turned so he was facing one of the corners of the shower; Hugo had turned fast enough that the blonde didn’t notice his swiftly-growing arousal. Scorpius was merely amused by how shy Hugo was. After all, they were both boys and they had grown up in dorms with communal-showers. It was hardly as though Hugo had anything he hadn’t seen.

 

Suddenly Scorpius frowned, wondering if perhaps Hugo was worried because he, Scorpius, was gay. He gently touched Hugo’s water-slicked shoulder. “Hey…” He murmured. “It’s okay. No need to be embarrassed, I promise. I wasn’t perving on you, I swear.” Hugo didn’t say anything so Scorpius felt the need to continue. “I mean it, Hugo. I promise I wasn’t trying to ogle you or anything.”

 

Hugo nodded, keeping his burning face turned away from the other boy. “I know.” He squeaked, wishing his voice didn’t betray his emotions. He let out a small, self-deprecating laugh and added. “No one tries to perv on me, so I’m not really worried about it.”

 

Scorpius frowned further at that comment. Was Hugo serious? He was quite pretty for a boy; surely someone had noticed? “Nonsense.” Scorpius said firmly. “You’re very attractive, Hugo. I’m sure loads of people think so.”

 

Then, shaking his head because that was hardly an appropriate conversation to have while in a shower, he added. “I’m going to go see if Al is here yet. Stay in here until I’ve got towels and your clothes ready. I don’t want you getting chilled again.”

 

Hugo nodded, turning to peek over his shoulder at Scorpius. For just a brief moment, silver eyes met dark, deep blue. Hugo’s curly auburn hair was dark from the water, slicked down and a startling contrast to his incredibly pale skin. Light freckles dusted the bridge of his nose and cheeks, and across his shoulders and upper back. His light reddish-brown eyelashes had droplets of water clinging to them and his full lips were once again a healthy pink. Scorpius felt an odd twist to his stomach while looking at that sweet, pretty face and he forced his eyes to stay safely above the boy’s shoulders, though he couldn’t have said why he was tempted to look lower in the first place. Hugo was hardly his type.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Two words, but in that soft, breathless voice they made that odd twist in his stomach a little stronger. He nodded. “Any time.” He responded without thinking, then blushed pink and ducked out of the shower before he could say anything else to embarrass himself.

 

Albus was lounging casually on one of the chaise’s that were in the room and there were two neat piles of clothing on one of the plush chairs, like the one Hugo had sat on earlier. He was wearing sweatpants and a tee-shirt and quirked an eyebrow at Scorpius. “Were you just _in the shower_ with my cousin?”

 

Scorpius rolled his eyes as he shucked his light grey dimijie pants and reached for a towel to dry off. “Yes, I was.” He said softly, seeing no point in denying the obvious. “He was barely able to walk he was so cold; I was worried he’d fall.”

 

Albus nodded. “Yeah. Hugo’s always been pretty delicate.” He glanced at Scorpius with serious green eyes and added. “Thanks for taking care of him. He’s kind of fluffy and quiet, but he’s my cousin and I do love him. We all worry about him; he’s so fragile.”

 

And as Scorpius pulled on the dark green silk pajama pants and super-soft, dark grey cotton tee Albus had brought him, he wondered if perhaps Hugo’s cousins didn’t actually _forget_ to invite the Hufflepuff places after all. Perhaps they didn’t invite him because they were worried he’d get hurt or sick. Which was sweet, in a way, but still couldn’t be much fun for Hugo. Scorpius decided he’d do his best to include Hugo in his and Albus’s activities for the remainder of the summer and just keep a close eye on the boy to make sure he didn’t hurt himself or fall ill. It was the least he could do for the innocent boy who made him feel more protective then anyone he’d ever met.

 

“It’s not a problem.” He finally told Albus as he gathered up two large, fluffy towels and a smaller one as well. “I don’t mind. Poor little puppy needs someone to look after him.”

 

Albus was still chuckling as Scorpius tapped on the shower’s wavy, blue-tinted glass door. “Got towels for you, Hugo.” He called out.

 

“Oh, um…” Hugo turned the water off and carefully cracked the shower door. He peeked out, his skin glowing a rosy color from the heat of the shower and – just a little – from the embarrassment of having been in a shower with Scorpius Malfoy. “Thanks.” He stuck a hand out for a towel.

 

Scorpius rolled his eyes and tugged the door open the rest of the way, ignoring the squeaked protest from Hugo. He swiftly wrapped one of the large towels around the smaller boy’s waist and Hugo was deeply grateful that his embarrassment had successfully taken care of his arousal. Scorpius then swung the second large towel around Hugo’s shoulders and tugged it closed over his chest, effectively cocooning him in soft, thick green terrycloth. Scorpius tugged the blushing, silent boy over to a chair near Albus and nudged him down onto it, then immediately began drying Hugo’s hair with the small towel he was still holding.

 

“Feeling better?” Albus asked Hugo, ignoring the way his best friend was treating his cousin like a small child or a pet. Scorpius wanted to be a Healer; it was in his nature to take care of people. And Hugo was just so easy to care for; he really was like the puppy Scorpius jokingly called him.

 

Hugo nodded, still blushing and keeping his eyes locked on the floor. The tender way Scorpius was taking care of him was sending warm flutters through his chest. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to worry anyone…”

 

Albus chuckled and stood to pass Hugo the clothes he’d brought; cotton sleep pants in black and yellow plaid and a black tee-shirt. Scorpius stopped toweling his hair and Hugo somehow managed to get his pants on without dropping the towel around his waist. “I’m always going to worry about you; you’re my favorite little cousin.”

 

Hugo nodded, giving Albus a sweet smile as he dropped his towels on the floor and swiftly pulled on his tee-shirt. “Love you too, Allie.” He replied, using the nickname he’d had for Albus since he was barely able to speak.

 

Scorpius swiftly gathered up the towels they’d used and his own soaked dimijie pants off the floor and dropped them down the laundry chute, then turned to the other boys. “Come on. Let’s go out into the Common Area. We can watch the storm from there.”

 

As Hugo silently followed his happily-chattering cousin and Scorpius, he thought about the fact that he’d always known he was waiting for something. He just hadn’t known what for. Now, he wondered if this was it. If he had just been waiting for Scorpius to notice him and take care of him and – eventually; hopefully – love him. With a  soft smile on his lips as he curled up on another plush chair – this time in the Common Area, facing the huge arches that opened into the interior garden where rain was still pouring down – Hugo decided that it was. He had been waiting his whole life for Scorpius Malfoy and he was quite pleased with how things were progressing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I quite enjoyed this chapter (though the shower-scene was an unexpected surprise) and really, research into Manas National Park aside, it was a delight to write. I was as accurate as possible in terms of weather (hot and humid, with plenty of rain in the afternoons) and wild life (the Asian Golden cat is beautiful) and even wardrobe again (the shalwar kameez is worn in several places in the world, including India, and has versions for both males and females).
> 
> I am steadily falling in love with this fic and hope you're all enjoying it as well. Comments make me incredibly happy, so feel free to leave me one! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	5. Chapter Four

Scorpius sat on his bed three days after the shower-incident, on Friday July 15th, looking out one of the windows into the interior garden. He was dressed in his typical morning-wear of dimijie pants – a soft sky-blue today – and nothing else. He was getting ready to head outside to the main gardens for yoga, as the sun had crested over the horizon only a few minutes earlier, but first he’d wanted to take a minute to think. He had promised Mr. Potter he would, after all. And he had been trying, truly. He took a few minutes each day t0 think about what he wanted from life.

 

He wanted to be a Healer; that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. He didn’t think that desire was the problem. So he had begun to wonder if, perhaps, a relationship wasn’t what he really wanted. Was it possible that the bright, bold, brash lover he had always imagined settling down with wasn’t what he really longed for? Was it possible he had been so wrong about himself? He could still see it, though. He could imagine the flat they’d start out in and the house they’d buy later. He could picture jaunts to the Continent and – now – exotic locales. He could clearly picture laughing broomstick races and breathless wrestling matches and scream-themselves-hoarse fights followed by days of not speaking and, finally, wild, passionate make-up sex.

 

The only thing he couldn’t see – had _never_ been able to see, ever since he’d stopped picturing Albus – was the face of the man he would share all of that with. But perhaps that was because he didn’t really want someone to share all of that with. Or maybe he had never stopped wanting it with Al. Scorpius paled at that thought; was that his problem? Was he unable to accept that Albus was the only one he’d ever want all of those things with? Was he not prepared to accept that fact and thus give up his dreams of having any of it at all? Of course he loved Albus; they were best friends. But he was over the crush he’d once had on the other boy, wasn’t he?

 

Suddenly, Scorpius wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t sure of much of anything anymore.

 

With a sigh, he pushed to his feet and began to cross the room to leave, pausing when he heard Louis’s softly-accented French. “Où vas tu aussi tôt putain?”1

 

Rolling his eyes – and knowing that when Louis was half-asleep he wouldn’t register English half as well as he would French – Scorpius whispered back. “Faire du yoga dans les jardins. Rendors toi. ”2

 

“Mmmm…” Louis turned over and buried his face in his pillow, dismissing Scorpius without another thought.

 

Snorting softly to himself, Scorpius continued out of the room, through the house, and out into the gardens. He walked quietly along, still pondering the possibilities of the Mirror’s image. The thing he was stuck on was the quote his mirror-self had written. _‘The heart has reasons that reason cannot know.’_ It seemed like it ought to be some sort of clue; he just didn’t understand it. He entered the large space where he’d chosen to do yoga and blinked in surprise.

 

Perched nervously on a bench was Hugo, dressed once again in wrap-pants. A soft cream color this time, rather than the dark blue he’d been wearing the last time. And no vest, Scorpius noted. He nodded at the boy. “Finally feeling ready to learn more?” He asked softly, though there was neither condescension nor mocking in his tone.

 

Hugo nodded, giving him a brilliant smile as he stood. “Yes. I…I thought…well, it just seems like something you really enjoy and I’m…well, I’m very interested in learning more of it.”

 

Scorpius walked closer and brushed his fingers absently across Hugo’s forehead, checking for any signs of a fever. He’d been doing that every time they’d seen each other over the last few days; he couldn’t seem to help it. “I find yoga very soothing.” He explained, giving Hugo a slight smile. “It’s why I do it first thing in the morning. It helps center me for the day.”

 

Hugo nodded again, looking eager. “So, what will I be learning today, Pi?”

 

“You can shadow as much of my routine as you like.” Scorpius replied, moving to stand near the middle of the slate-floored clearing. “Just give yourself enough room that you won’t bump into me or anything else and do what I do. When we reach the more complicated stuff, I’ll show you the beginner poses before I do the intermediate or advanced ones.”

 

Hugo swiftly moved to stand near – but not _too_ near – the Slytherin. He watched as Scorpius stood with his feet hip-width apart and mimicked the stance. The blonde then rolled up onto his toes while raising his arms over his head, palms forward and fingers spread wide, head tipped back a little and back slightly arched. He looked like he was soaking up the sunshine. Hugo did the same, holding the pose until he saw Scorpius ending it. Scorpius repeated the pose 4 more times and Hugo did as well, wondering why he didn’t feel any calmer or more _‘centered’_ then he had before. Perhaps he was doing it wrong?

 

“It’s important to focus on your breaths.” Scorpius told him when he asked. “It’s by focusing on your breathing and your individual muscle movements that you center yourself. By narrowing your focus down so far, you empty your thoughts and de-stress and sort of…settle…into your body.”

 

“Oh.” Hugo blinked, then followed Scorpius into downward dog, though he wasn’t quite as graceful at it as the older boy. “Should I…um…”

 

“Just try raising your leg. Don’t worry about your arm.” Scorpius told him with another smile. “If you feel unbalanced or unstable, switch back to the pulses we did last time. Otherwise do 3 lifts on each leg.”

 

Hugo nodded and carefully raised his left leg, focusing on holding his body steady and not falling flat on his own face. He counted breaths and managed it with only a slight wobble, so he continued. Raising his right leg was easier; he wondered if that was because he was left-handed and thus was more stable while balancing on his left foot; he thought that was probably the case. When he finished and stood – nearly falling over in the process – he was embarrassed to realize Scorpius was watching him.

 

Scorpius was gazing at Hugo serenely and he spoke gently when the boy nearly unbalanced. “It’s okay to fall. It happens in the beginning sometimes. What’s important is to keep trying.” When Hugo nodded, his eyes huge in his flushed face, he added. “You did very well. Keep practicing that. You’ve seen the advanced pose so if you feel ready to try it at some point, go ahead. If you can’t do it, then go back to the intermediate pose and try again later.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Hugo’s breathless voice made Scorpius smile every time; he wondered if the boy had always sounded like that and he was only just noticing, or if it was a quality that had appeared with age. He knew Hugo was only a year younger than him, even though they were two years apart in school. A fluke, due to Hugo’s birthdate, he knew. It was interesting, to say the least.

 

Hugo watched Scorpius go through several more poses; some of them he imitated, some of them he simply watched. Scorpius didn’t mind the audience and he kept a close eye on the other boy’s form when he _was_ imitating so he could correct it as necessary. For the most part, Hugo seemed to be a natural, though Scorpius himself rarely did any of the more intense poses so it was hard to judge. He saw no reason to, despite the fact that he easily could have; the simpler poses served to center and calm him well enough.

 

Finally, though, Scorpius decided to try doing the crow pose. Part of him wanted to impress Hugo; it was a fascinating pose to watch and he knew it. He’d been awed the first time his instructor had done it. “We’ll try crow pose next. It’s one that you’ll do a different version of than me.”

 

Hugo nodded and Scorpius bent over like he would for downward dog. Instead of walking his hands forward, however, he angled his body slightly so that his arms were at a 45 degree angle from the ground and bent his knees so they just-barely touched his arms. Hugo frowned, not sure what this pose was going to be about, but quickly followed Scorpius into it. It wasn’t too difficult.

 

“Now what?” He asked, turning his head slight to look at Scorpius.

 

Scorpius smirked slightly at Hugo, which was odd; normally all he gave this near the end of a yoga session were serene smiles. “Now you’re going to bend your elbows, lift your heels off the ground, and rest your knees against the outside of your arms.” As he spoke, Scorpius did as he was instructing.

 

He watched from the corner of his eye as Hugo did the same and had to admit that the boy was strangely graceful, despite the fact that he was normally a klutz. Scorpius had seen him bump into furniture he was looking at, trip over nothing, and even slam his shoulder and side into a doorframe he was walking through. The boy would wince, blush, and then continue on his way as though nothing had happened, which Scorpius found remarkable admirable. He’d have been horrified if he did something so graceless and embarrassing. He supposed when you did it all the time, though, that it was different.

“Hold it for between 5 and 10 breaths.” Scorpius told the Hufflepuff as he took several deep breaths to help prepare his body for what he was about to do. “The longer you can manage for the better, but it can be tough on your thighs.”

 

Hugo nodded and Scorpius took one last deep breath, spread his fingers, squeezed his inner thighs, and bent his knees further so his feet were almost completely off the floor. He carefully leaned forward so his weight was more-fully centered above his hands, brought his calves up until they touched his lower thighs and his feet were no longer touching the floor, pointed his toes, and drew his abs inward to lift his hips higher. He heard Hugo gasp next to him but couldn’t turn to watch the boy’s reaction while in this position. Not unless he wanted to fall flat on his face, anyway. So instead he listened to the sound of rapid breaths and soaked up the knowledge that he had _definitely_ managed to impress the boy.

 

When he lowered his feet a few minutes later, the rapid breaths had quieted and he assumed Hugo would be back in his pose. Or perhaps watching him in silent-awe. Instead, Hugo was gone. Scorpius frowned, then sighed and sank easily into child’s pose to let his body relax and cool down. He hoped he hadn’t intimidated the shy, reserved Hugo. He enjoyed teaching his friend’s cousin and had been looking forward to further lessons. It would be disappointing if there weren’t any.

 

Scorpius decided he’d talk to the boy after breakfast and make sure everything was alright.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_ French _ _ Translations:_

 

1 – “Where are you going this fucking early?”

2 – “To do yoga in the gardens. Go back to sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE YOGA! <3 ^_^ I'm having quite a bit of fun with the yoga. It'll get even better later, once our dear, sweet Scorpius is closer to pulling his head out of his very-lovely arse.
> 
> For the French: I am NOT an expert. I do not speak it fluently. I took three years of it in HS and I barely remember any of it. So if I messed up a conjugation or something isn't quite right with my translation, I apologize. Chalk it up to me being flawed and leave it at that, lol.
> 
> Nothing would make me happier than to receive comments, so please feel free to leave me some!!! <3 Also, I do NOT have a Beta. So if you notice any errors (grammar, spelling, typo, etc) PLEASE point it out so I can correct it! Thanks so very, very much. ^_^
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	6. Chapter Five

Hugo had resumed yoga lessons with Scorpius the next day. When Scorpius had pushed the boy for a reason as to why he’d run off, Hugo had told him he’d simply felt unwell and hadn’t wanted to worry anyone. Scorpius had – in keeping with his previous behavior – immediately become solicitous and concerned about the Hufflepuff. This had caused Hugo to flush with embarrassed pleasure while Albus rolled his eyes, but that didn’t matter much to Scorpius. He couldn’t help being protective of the little puppy of a teen.

 

“So…” Albus drawled on Sunday afternoon. He was lounging carelessly on a large beach towel, spread across the slate paving stones of the interior garden, next to the pool. “Are you coming to Manas tomorrow? I hear we’re doing a full tree-climbing, hiking, exploring thing this time.”

 

Scorpius made a small noise of disgust. “Since I don’t particularly want to, no.” He stated. Scorpius was sitting on the small wall that lined the pool. His grey dimijie pants were rolled up to his knees and his right foot dangling lazily in the water. He kicked out with his foot as Araminta floated by.

 

“Bastard!” She cried out, but there was laughter in her tone. Born only a few weeks apart – and with both their mothers and their fathers being best friends – Araminta was as good as his sister. She kicked her feet forcefully and sent a small wall of water at him.

 

Scorpius laughed and wiped off his face, pushing his now-damp hair back from his forehead and calling out cheerfully. “Bitch!” Then he turned back to Albus and added. “The tigers and elephants are cool and all, but I’d rather go to a zoo to see them. No point in traipsing about through a hot, damp, dirty forest full of bugs and shit if one doesn’t _have_ to.” He wondered if Hugo would want to go and decided probably not; perhaps he’d invite the boy to do something else instead. Maybe a trip to the open-air market.

 

Albus spoke again, drawing his attention back from his musings. “Yeah, well, I’m going anyway. I enjoy climbing trees to look at monkeys and birds and hiking and shit.” He grinned cheekily and added with a wink. “Because I’m a _man_.” He stressed the last word teasingly.

 

Scorpius snorted softly and rolled his eyes. “Yes, well.” He studied his perfectly manicured nails for a moment, then looked at Albus with a sardonically raised eyebrow. “I’m a different sort of man.”

 

Pushing himself up with his elbows so he was half-sitting, Albus raised an eyebrow in turn and asked. “Are you really? And what sort of man is _that_ , ‘Pi?”

 

“The sort who likes another man’s cock up his arse.” Araminta’s response came from beside Scorpius, who turned to look at her with a sneer. She was now resting her head on the wall beside Scorpius, lightly kicking her feet to stay afloat.

 

Lucy and Lily – who were sunbathing nearby – burst into hysterical laughter and Scorpius rolled his eyes, saying teasingly. “Now see what you’ve done, ‘Mint? You’ve told the children I’m queer.”

 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware it was some sort of huge secret.” Araminta replied, giggling as well. “It’s kind of super-obvious, you know? But my bad.”

 

Chuckling, Albus sat up the rest of the way, drawing his knees up to wrap his arms around. “It’s not like it a big deal to my family or anything, ‘Pi. I mean, there’s Uncle Charlie shacking up with Serge. And then there’s Louis, who’s prissier then _you_. And then there’s Hugo, who’s so sweet I can’t imagine him with a bird anyway, so it’s probably a good thing he likes blokes.”

 

Scorpius’s head snapped back to Albus so fast that he almost fell into the pool. “ _What?”_ He demanded, utterly startled. “Hugo is _gay_? I didn’t know that! Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

 

Albus quirked an eyebrow, looking bemused. “I’m sorry?” He asked, sounding just a little sarcastic. “I didn’t realize I had to inform you of the sexual preferences of all of my cousins. My mistake. Anyway, that’s just Hugo and we’ve sort of always known. It’s not like it was a secret or anything.”

 

“Aren’t you queers supposed to be able to sense each other or something?” Araminta asked, resting her cheek on her arm and peering up at him. Her honey-colored skin glistened from the water and her long, golden eyes were full of laughter. “I thought that was one of the perks.”

 

“Yes, of course.” Scorpius snapped, blushing a little. He could, in fact, normally spot a like-minded bloke quite easily. It just hadn’t occurred to him that Hugo liked _anyone,_ so he hadn’t taken the time to figure out which gender the boy might prefer. “Hugo is just so young that I didn’t really think of it.”

 

“He’s nearly 15.” Araminta pointed out, flicking water casually at him. “That’s hardly a child, you know. I mean, _you’re_ still 15, after all. At least for another few weeks, anyway.”

 

Scorpius glared at her. “Yes, I _know_ that, little miss _I’m sixteen already.”_ He spoke the last three words in a high falsetto, batting his eyelashes at her. When Albus snorted, he snapped. “Not a word! I know you’ve been 16 for three months; no need to rub it in!”

 

Suddenly there was a panicked scream, followed by a loud splash and laughter from the far end of the pool. Araminta rolled her eyes and called out. “Who’d you pricks throw in _now_?”

 

Alexander and Oliver had taken to throwing the younger kids into the pool randomly. It was stupid and mean, but unsurprising. Alexander chuckled nastily. “Hugo. He screamed and thrashed worse the girls, too, the big baby.”

 

Suddenly Rose was screaming and crying, flying at Alexander and beating her small fists into his chest repeatedly in a very-girly fit of temper that was quite unlike her. _“He can’t swim!”_

Those three words cut through Scorpius like a knife. He’d stood before he realized what he was doing and Araminta pushed off the wall slightly to get out of his way as he ran down the length of it. He ran until he could see Hugo – thrashing and looking terrified – under the water, then dove smoothly in. There was no thought in his mind save getting to the younger boy and getting him out of the water. Nothing else mattered.

 

Meanwhile, Albus had gotten up nearly as fast as Scorpius. When he saw his friend hit the water, he continued on towards Alexander. He ignored Araminta, who had pulled herself out of the pool and was running – dripping wet – beside him. He rushed right up to his cousin’s boyfriend and punched him in the stomach. Three hits later, and the others in the interior garden had begun to gather around, trying to see what was happening. Lily was soothing Rose while Araminta slapped Oliver, keeping him from trying to help his new friend.

 

Dominique’s shriek cut through the air and drew everyone’s attention. “Albus, _what are you doing?”_ She demanded shrilly, glaring at him. “Why are you _hitting_ my boyfriend?”

 

Albus debated answering for a split second, then turned and slugged the boy right on the nose instead. It broke with a satisfying crunch and began spouting blood. Domi had just gathered herself to attack when Scorpius’s panting voice drew everyone’s attention. “He threw Hugo into the pool.”

 

Scorpius was soaked, his hair plastered messily to his face, as he carried a limp and unnaturally-still Hugo bridal-style up the built-in steps at the end of the pool. The loose fabric of his dimijie pants was dragging him down and his tee-shirt clung wetly to his back, but he struggled onward. When he reached the top step, he knelt and laid the redhead down. Then he looked up at everyone; they all seemed frozen.

 

“He’s not breathing. I need a wand.” He explained, his panic seeping into his voice and showing on his face.

 

James was at his side in an instant, wand drawn. Rose and Araminta joined him almost instantly. “What do you need me to cast?” James asked in that stubbornly-determined way that only Gryffindors ever seemed to manage.

 

“Respiro.” Scorpius told him as he slid an arm under Hugo’s shoulder and hefted the unconscious boy up to a half-sitting position. James cast and Hugo’s limp body heaved, water gushing from his mouth. When nothing else happened, Scorpius firmly said. “Again.”

 

Trembling slightly, James recast the spell. More water gushed out and then Hugo began to cough and spit, clearly breathing on his own again, so Scorpius helped him sit up higher.

 

Suddenly from behind them, Dominique screamed a sound of pure-fury and rushed. Albus took a half-step back from Alex and held his hands up defensively; he was stunned when his cousin’s hand connected with Alex’s cheek, rather than his own. “You bastard!” She screamed, slapping Alexander again. “You could have _killed him,_ tu putain de trou du cul!”1 She was trembling with rage.

 

Scorpius turned his attention back to Hugo, ignoring everyone else for the moment. “Shhhh…” He soothed when he realized Hugo was sobbing softly and shaking as he drew in deep breaths. “You’re safe now. You’re alright.” He murmured, but he knew he was lying.

 

He was listening to the wet, rasping sound of Hugo’s breathing and he knew the boy still had water in his lungs. He also knew that that could lead to pneumonia. So he hugged Hugo close to him, drawing the smaller boy onto his lap, and turned to look at James. “I need you to cast again.”

 

“What?” James looked horrified. “No! You…we’re not supposed to cast Respiro on someone who’s awake, right? It’s, like, not allowed! It’s supposed to be _really_ uncomfortable or something.”

 

Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then turned to look down at Hugo. His eyes showed his grief as he spoke softly. “I’m so sorry, Hugo. You’ll feel like you’re suffocating again for a few moments while the spell works. But you’ve got water in your lungs and it needs to come out.”

 

James opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped by Hugo’s rasping voice. “It’s alright, Jamie. I trust ‘Pi. If he says this needs to be done, then cast.”

 

James looked uncertain, but he leveled his wand at Hugo’s chest anyway. Scorpius locked silver eyes with deep blue and said softly. “Take a deep breath, like we do for yoga. Then just wait for the spell to take effect. Don’t fight it; sink into the feeling.”

 

Hugo took a deep breath, Scorpius nodded, and James cast. Hugo’s body shuddered and his eyes went wide and terrified, reeling in his head. Then they locked on Scorpius’s again and he relaxed for a moment before his body heaved. He turned his head and spewed out more water before coughing again for several moments. Rose was watching from the circle of Araminta’s arms, crying silently. In the background, Dominique was cursing at Alexander in two languages while Roxanne ranted at Oliver for _‘going along with a fucking moron’_ and Lily and Lucy had run off to get the adults. Tuning them all out, Scorpius listened for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut.

 

“Again.” He whispered, then opened his eyes to lock them with Hugo’s once more. Hugo breathed, Scorpius nodded, and James cast. This time, when Hugo spit up water, there was less of it. And as he listened to the normal – if slightly-strained – breathing of Hugo, he knew that it was okay. “There. That’s the last of it.” He said, his relief showing on his face.

 

James relaxed and lowered his wand and Hugo trembled in Scorpius’s arms. The Slytherin gave him a light squeeze and added. “You need to go change, then rest for the day. And I’m going to be watching you for the next few days to make sure you’re alright.”

 

Suddenly, Ron and Hermione burst into the interior garden, followed by several other adults and a worried-looking Lucy and Lily. “ _Hugo!_ ” Hermione raced over to Scorpius and Hugo, collapsing onto the ground beside them and reaching for her son. “My poor baby…”

 

“ _Mum…”_ Hugo whined, blushing and turning his burning face into Scorpius’s chest, burying it in the wet, clinging fabric of his white tee-shirt. “I’m fine.” Came the muffled assertion of his well-being.

 

“Mum.” Rose’s thick, tear-clogged voice drew her mother’s attention as the girl gently disentangled herself from Araminta’s comforting embrace. “He’s okay, really. Scorpius had James cast Respiro on him a bunch of times until he got all the water out.”

 

“Respiro?” Hermione gasped, turning tear-filled and vaguely-accusing eyes on Scorpius. “While he was _awake?_ That’s…that’s…”

 

“It was necessary.” Scorpius told her gently, his face sympathetic. He gave Hugo another careful squeeze and added. “His breathing was wet and raspy. I didn’t want him catching pneumonia. Hugo did very well, actually.” He gave the boy in question a slight smile and added softly. “He was really very brave about the whole thing.”

 

Hermione’s eyes widened and she looked baffled. “He…what?”

 

Suddenly Harry’s hand was resting lightly on Hermione’s shoulder as he crouched beside her. “Scorpius is planning to be a Healer, Herm. If he says it was necessary, I believe him.” He turned a trusting smile on Scorpius. “Thank you for helping him.”

 

Suddenly Ron cleared his throat awkwardly and said in a gruff voice. “Um, yeah. Thank you, Scorpius.” He looked very uncomfortable, but sounded sincere so Scorpius acknowledged him with a faint smile and slight nod. It seemed to be enough.

 

Hermione cleared her throat as well, though more delicately then her husband had, and turned a trembling smile on Scorpius. “Well, then, Healer Malfoy. What do you suggest for further care and treatment?” Her tone held no trace of mocking, so Scorpius answered.

 

“Well, he needs to get dry, first off.” Suddenly Ron shot drying charms at both boys and Scorpius gave him a grateful little smile. “He also needs to not get wet and cold for a few days. That’s important. And he should rest.”

 

When Hugo stiffened in his arms, Scorpius realized how that might sound to an over-protective mother like Hermione Granger-Weasley and hastened to clarify. “For his _mental_ health, not his physical. Nearly drowning followed by several Respiro-spells is stressful. He needs to read or do quiet things for the rest of the day.” Hermione nodded and Hugo relaxed, so Scorpius added. “And nothing taxing for the next few days, in addition to not getting wet and cold. Just to be safe.”

 

Hermione’s lips settled into a firm line and she said sternly. “You’ll not be going on that hiking trip tomorrow, Hugo. It almost always rains in the afternoons in Manas. I’ll stay behind with you, to keep you company and make sure you don’t overdo.”

 

“That won’t be necessary.” Scorpius told her smoothly, with a charming smile. He thought poor Hugo probably needed a little _less_ mothering; clearly Hermione meant well, but she struck Scorpius as a bit overbearing. “I don’t intend to go to Manas. In fact, I’d just been telling Al that before all of this happened. He can come with me to the bazaar instead.” Seeing the worry on Hermione’s face, Scorpius added. “We won’t get rained on, I promise. I’ll bring an umbrella and we’ll go into a shop or restaurant if it starts. And we’ll stop to rest if Hugo starts to weary.” He glanced down at Hugo and added. “If you’d like to come with me, that is. I suppose I shouldn’t presume…”

 

Those blue eyes darkened slightly and Hugo blushed, but he nodded. “I’d like it very much, ‘Pi.” He spoke softly, but his gaze was intense.

 

Before Scorpius could even begin to analyze that – and before Hermione could protest – Ron spoke up once more. “That’s all settled then.” He gave Scorpius a tight smile. “I’m trusting you to keep a close eye on Hugo for me, Scorpius. Don’t let me down.”

 

Scorpius flushed with pleasure at the knowledge that the distrustful, over-protective, Auror-Ron-Weasley trusted him with his only son and murmured. “Thank you, sir. I swear I won’t let anything happen to him while he’s in my care.”

 

And Scorpius knew, down to his very marrow, that it was true. He would do anything to keep Hugo safe and well. He just didn’t know _why_.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

1 -  "You fucking asshole." <\--- Domi's line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO fond of this chapter. Hugo nearly drowning and Scorpius fishing him out has been planned from the start and I love how it turned out. <3
> 
> Lovely comments make me happy and remember to let me know if you see any grammatical or spelling errors!
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	7. Chapter Six

The bazaar fascinated Hugo. He had gone with Freddie and James, of course, more than a week earlier, to get clothing. But that trip had been rushed as the older boys hadn’t wanted to linger; they’d been eager to get back to their girlfriends. So Hugo hadn’t been able to really _enjoy_ it. It was amazing. Scorpius had dressed in the traditional shalwar kameez again; his dimijie pants were light grey and his shirt was a rich emerald with simple silver embroidery at the neck, sleeves, and hem that continued up the high side-slits to his slender waist. On his feet were green, cork-soled, cloth shoes that looked flimsy but weren’t.

 

Hugo, however, had chosen to wear the wrap-pants he’d come to prefer. They were his favorite pair; at the waistband they were black and at the ankles they were white, with a gradual color-fade through many shades of grey down the length of them. He also wore a vest that was a deep, eggplant purple. On his feet were simple black sandals. He certainly didn’t fit in as well with the locals as Scorpius did, but then their white-blonde and red hair respectively made them stand out anyway. Plus, Hugo figured his bemused staring was probably giving them away as tourists as well.

 

He suddenly bit his lip, worried that he might be embarrassing Scorpius with his unsophisticated behavior and feeling the need to defend himself. “Sorry. It’s just so…”

 

“Overwhelming?” Scorpius asked, grinning down at him. He chuckled softly. “Yes, I feel the same way. I just can’t believe how much there is to see!”

 

And Hugo flushed with pleasure, because Scorpius clearly didn’t think he was unsophisticated at all. “So, what are we here for?” He asked shyly.

 

Scorpius chuckled. “We are here,” He explained, still grinning widely. “For the dual-purposes of avoiding both Manas Park and your slightly-smothering mother _and_ having a good time while getting gifts for my mother and grandmother. And possibly picking out a Christmas present for ‘Mint.”

 

Hugo blinked slowly, then asked. “You mean we aren’t here to pick up a specific something and then go home?” He was a little surprised; his cousins were very-much “list-shoppers” and he had never imagined someone else might prefer to browse aimlessly as he did.

 

“Of course not.” Scorpius said with a dismissive little wave of the collapsible black Muggle umbrella Hermione had left for them. “We are here to…to _amble_ along, quite merrily, while enjoying the sights and smells and sounds and…and other things.”

 

Hugo giggled at Scorpius attempt at being pompous and dignified, which was quite-ruined by the fact that he was grinning like a madman and waving a folded-up umbrella. “Well then.” Hugo reached out without thought and slipped his hand through Scorpius’s arm, letting his fingers curl around the crook of the blonde’s elbow. “Lead the way, my good fellow.”

 

And though Scorpius felt a funny little twist in his stomach that made him hesitate to permit the overly-friendly touch, a single look at Hugo’s earnest, delighted face and wide, blue, puppy eyes was enough to make him allow it. He swallowed hard and proceeded to lead the auburn-haired boy down a row of tipsy-tilted shops that seemed to lean against each other and brightly colored awnings or umbrellas over pieced-together stalls and carts. Vendors were hawking their wares in several languages while steely-eyed local men, thrifty local women, and over-eager tourists bargained to try to get the best possible prices. It was color everywhere – from clothing to awnings and umbrellas to the wares being sold – and sound, in the form of raised voices and multiple languages and chanting-songs from street performers and children – barefoot and shrieking with laughter and youthful energy – weaving in and out of it all. Scents ran rampant over each other – jasmine and lotus, sandalwood and patchouli, curry and ginger and citrus, unwashed skin and cloying perfumes and silk and smoke and hot, humid air. It was overwhelming and intense and terrifying and thrilling and wonderful, all at once.

 

Hugo felt a bit breathless from it all and was relieved when Scorpius’s attention was caught by a stall. He began to run his hands over various fabrics, sifting through piles and making little noises of approval or disgust, depending on what he was touching. Hugo watched him sifting and sorting, choosing and dismissing, with a small sense of awe. Scorpius was clearly well-aware of what he liked and what he didn’t and he would _not_ settle. Hugo envied him that firm sense of self; it was something he himself lacked. He was startled when Scorpius tugged a length of deep, shimmering blue silk shot through with gold out of a pile and held it up under his chin. He blinked slowly, not quite sure what he was supposed to be doing in response to this odd action.

 

“Gorgeous…” Scorpius murmured, tipping his head to the side slightly and admiring the way the gold-shot fabric in lapis lazuli-blue looked against Hugo’s auburn hair and blue eyes. He smiled at his friend and said. “Would you wear something in this fabric? Dress robes, perhaps? No, they’d be too clingy in pure silk; you’d need a backing fabric. Perhaps pajamas…silk pajamas are quite lovely…do you own any?”

 

“I, um…” Hugo blinked, startled. Why in the world was Scorpius asking him about what sort of pajamas he owned? “I don’t, no.” He finally answered, since he didn’t quite know what else to do.

 

Scorpius nodded, looking thoughtful, then turned to the vendor. “English?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow. The man said something rapidly, making a soothing hand gesture and then holding up two fingers before disappearing behind a curtain that seemed to divide the stall in half. “I hope he went to fetch someone who can translate…” Scorpius muttered.

 

Suddenly a beautiful Indian girl appeared; she didn’t seem much older than they were, in fact. Her hair was plaited with gold ribbon and hung to her waist; her kameez was a vibrant red with gold embroidering the edges and her pants were a deep gold. “Hello. My name is Hanisha.” Her voice held only the faintest hint of an accent; she almost sounded British. “My uncle said you wished for an English-speaker? His English isn’t as good as he’d like…”

 

“Yes.” Scorpius smiled charmingly, holding up the blue-and-gold fabric as well as a pink and silver one and one in a shimmering green that had a gold undertone. “I’d like the full lengths of all three of these, if that’s alright.”

 

Hanisha looked quite pleased and immediately slid out each of the fabrics in question. From somewhere on her side of the makeshift-counter, she produced three thin, smoothly-sanded wooden spindles around which she wound the lengths of fabric. Then she produced a long, thin canvas bag that had a strap to go across one’s body so it would rest between one’s shoulder blades, like a sword or a quiver of arrows. She slipped the fabric-covered spindles into it and then moved her mouth silently for a few moments, seeming to think quite hard.

 

Finally, she spoke. “That will be 17,421 Rupees.” She frowned then, and added. “Assuming you’re carrying Rupees on you. We do take British Pounds, otherwise. The conversion would be…”

 

“Approximately 200 pounds.” Scorpius said smoothly. He pulled a roll of money out of his pocket and counted out five fifty-pound notes, handing them to the girl. “Here’s 250, Hanisha, and we’ll call it even, yes?” He winked at her and she blushed and stammered out a thank you. “Now, do you know where I might find a decent tailor? I’d like to have this fabric turned into pajama sets for friends.” He turned to Hugo with a grin and added. “You’ll get yours for your birthday, Puppy, and not a minute sooner, are we clear?”

 

Hugo blinked at the odd nickname; he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about being called a _puppy_ by someone. But then, if Scorpius wanted to cuddle and pet him, he certainly wouldn’t object… “Who are the other two for?” He asked, deciding to ignore the strange endearment for now.

 

For his part, Scorpius didn’t even notice that the word had left his mouth; it was simply how he thought of Hugo in his head. “The pink is for ‘Mint and the green is for Al. They’ll get them for Christmas.” Scorpius turned back to the girl and quirked an eyebrow. “A tailor?”

 

Hanisha’s brow furrowed as she thought. Finally she shrugged. “I don’t know. I would suggest just looking around while shopping for one. I’m only here visiting for the summer.”

 

“Hmmm.” Scorpius nodded, giving the girl a small smile. “Yes, I suppose. And I can always have them done up proper once I’m back in England.”

 

 Scorpius took the bag, slung it around his body, thanked the girl, and they headed off again. There were many stands that were selling produce. Some of it Hugo recognized; others were strange. Carrots, chickpeas, potatoes, tiny eggplants, and onions were side-by-side with (though Hugo couldn’t have named them if he’d tried) tiny okra-like tindola squash, long and winding snake gourd chichinda, crocodile-textured karela, guar beans, and kakri cucumbers. The produce was piled in mounds in baskets and bins and people were sifting through to find the ones they wanted. It was fascinating and very different from the washed and neatly-stacked produce at the Muggle supermarket his mother preferred to go to.

 

They by-passed various stalls and vendors with produce and linen and ready-made clothing, stopping briefly to watch a young belly dancer; Hugo envied the way she moved. Scorpius was impressed by her muscle control and tossed a ten-pound note into her little basket before they moved on. There was a gentleman who was using a barely-lit torch and some liquid he kept putting into his mouth to blow streams of bright orange fire and Hugo watched with awe for several long minutes. Scorpius thought it was adorable to see his eyes widen and his soft pink lips form a small ‘O’ each time the man breathed another long stream. Scorpius dropped money into the man’s basket as well, since his performance had pleased Hugo. Scorpius was having a very good time.

 

He stopped to examine a large, beautiful rug in ornate red and black and silver designs on a dark charcoal-grey background color and ended up purchasing it, paying extra to ensure it would be safely delivered to the house at the end of market hours. Scorpius explained as they walked away. “I’ll shrink it for transport, obviously. But my father will love that and it will look lovely in his study. His old rug is getting a bit threadbare in places; one has only to look at the floor to tell precisely where Father paces when he’s agitated or deep in thought.”

 

Hugo snickered and the sound made Scorpius smile. “I’m sure he’ll love it. It was very beautiful.” Hugo smiled up at the blonde. “Though, to be fair, nearly everything here is beautiful.”

 

“Very, very true.” Scorpius agreed. Then, spotting a street vendor selling samosas – a snack or appetizer Scorpius had fallen in love with during previous visits to the bazaar – he grinned widely. “Come on. I want a samosa to munch on.”

 

They swiftly bought two of the triangle-shaped fried pastries. Filled with spiced vegetables and meat in varying combinations, they were a lovely thing to munch on while walking. Hugo had gotten spiced potatoes with chicken in his; simple and not too-hot. Scorpius’s was far hotter in flavor, had lamb instead of chicken, and had onions, potato, green peas, and green chili in addition to the spices used to flavor it. It was delicious and Scorpius bought them both cool, iced green tea to drink. It had a crisp, fresh taste and only a hint of sugar was used to sweeten it. They were laughing and joking about how ‘bland’ everything would taste when they returned to Hogwarts as they continued shopping.

 

Scorpius picked up a silver necklace for his grandmother. It was a strip of beaten silver that would curl around her neck, with an elaborate silver disk made of thin, connected spindles of silver centered on it; the disk had a small piece of jade at its center. Overall, it was a delicate but somehow eye-catching piece and Scorpius vowed it would suit Narcissa perfectly. From the stories Hugo had heard about her from her sister Andromeda, he thought that Scorpius was probably right.

 

A set of 15 tinkling gold bangle bracelets were picked up for Astoria and, with a smile, Hugo bought a set of 5 for his own mother. He didn’t know for sure if she would wear them, but he thought she might. He was looking at a pretty blue and bronze beaded necklace for Rose several hours after they’d arrived when Scorpius pointed out another street vendor selling food out of a cart.

 

“More samosas?” Hugo asked, frowning. “If you’re hungry, we can go get lunch from one of the restaurants, you know.”

 

Scorpius chuckled at Hugo’s response and rolled his eyes. “Actually, we _should_ eat something substantial soon, but that’s not what this vendor is selling.” He grabbed Hugo’s hand, unconsciously letting their fingers twine together, and pulled the boy along as he headed over to it. “Two orders; pudine ka pani.” He told the vendor, holding up two fingers before turning to Hugo and explaining. “It’s panipuri. Sort of…a savory sweet. Well, the way I ordered it, anyway. But not exactly. It’s a pastry of sorts, but it’s got water, tamarind, potatoes, chickpeas, chili, onion, and chaat masala in it and you can get it spicy or sweet, depending on your tastes because they flavor the water they use...I ordered mint for us.”

 

“Oh.” Hugo looked warily between Scorpius and the vendor, who was taking the money for the order. He wasn’t sure it sounded tasty at all. “I don’t know, ‘Pi…”

 

Scorpius noticed the wary look and smiled reassuringly, giving the boy’s hand a light squeeze; he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t yet let go of him, so after the squeeze, he did. “It’s good, I promise. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

 

Though still hesitant, Hugo agreed to try the hollow pastry ball filled with the weirdest combination of stuff, including mint-flavored water, before being fried. Scorpius watched as the vendor made one panipuri for each person waiting, handing over their specific type to them as it was ready. Panipuri vendors had to keep track of not only what each person wanted in terms of flavor of water and if they wanted more filling or extra onions or what, but also how many each person had received, since they made one for each customer and cycled through until each person had received their full order of 5. When it came around to their turns, Scorpius took the first one from the vendor, then turned and held the pastry-ball (the perfect size for one’s mouth) up to Hugo’s lips.

 

“The whole thing goes into your mouth, then you bite into it.” He explained and Hugo dutifully parted his lips to accept the pastry, biting down once it was placed on his tongue and he’d closed his mouth. “So…do you like it?” Scorpius asked, looking eager.

 

Hugo nodded, chewing slowly and savoring the odd combination of flavors; spicy chili and sweet-and-sour tamarind cut with cool, crisp mint was very different, but not unpleasant. He swallowed, watching as Scorpius accepted his own panipuri from the vendor and popped it into his mouth, biting down with a blissful little moan of delight. “Yeah…it was perfect.” Hugo managed, his voice husky and a bit breathless; that moan had gone straight to his cock and he licked his lips unconsciously. Anything that made Scorpius moan like that _had_ to be perfect, in Hugo’s opinion.

 

Scorpius’s eyes – which had closed in sheer delight as he ate – opened again and he smiled, his tongue flickering out to moisten his lips. “I told you they tasted absolutely gorgeous, didn’t I?”

 

Hugo and Scorpius finished their orders of panipuri, with each happy little moan the blonde made making it harder and harder for Hugo to hide his reaction. When they finished, Scorpius took Hugo’s hand again and smiled, casually twining their fingers together again. “Shall we find an actual place to eat now? I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until I started eating the panipuri.”

 

Hugo was flushed and struggling to breathe normally, but he managed a nod. Scorpius wondered if perhaps he’d been pushing for too much activity today and gently brushed Hugo’s hair back from his forehead, leaning down slightly to peer into his eyes. “Are you alright, Hugo? You’re not feeling dizzy, are you? I know we got all the water out, but your lungs are probably still tender. Are you having trouble breathing? We should sit…”

 

“I’m fine.” Hugo gave him a weak smile. “We can sit down when we find a restaurant, right?”

 

Scorpius grinned, tightened his grip on Hugo’s hand, and they headed off to do just that.

 

After eating a lunch of hot curry vindaloo (of the lamb variety), Scorpius decided that they should start heading back to the house. “Don’t want to overdo it, or get caught in the afternoon rain.” Scorpius explained, laughing.

 

They were almost out of the open-air market altogether when Hugo saw it. He drifted towards it as though pulled by an invisible string, dropping Scorpius’s hand absently as he approached; his sole focus was the necklace. Scorpius frowned and followed closely; he didn’t want to lose Hugo in the teeming streets. A brief mental image of the puppy-like boy with a collar and leash sprung into his mind and he suppressed a snort of laughter. _‘At least he couldn’t wander then…_ ’ He thought with amusement, turning his eyes to the piece that had so-caught the small teen’s attention.

 

It was made of hammered copper; a warm, reddish-brown that seemed to almost glow in the warm sunlight. It was simple, just a band of metal about a half-inch in width. It was also quite small, obviously intended to hug the throat of a delicate female. But Hugo was quite petite and his throat was slender; Scorpius thought it might fit the boy. He watched as Hugo reached out pale, slim fingers and gently traced the curve of the metal, looking transfixed. His fingers caressed the copper, the tip of his tongue darting out to moisten petal-pink lips.

 

“Excuse me.” Scorpius told the vendor, who was chatting in Hindi with another customer. “May he try this on, please?”

 

The vendor said something else to the customer, then turned to Scorpius and Hugo. “It’s for a woman, not a man.” He said, looking confused. Then his eyes locked on Hugo’s neck and he shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. “He’s little enough. Go ahead and try.”

 

Hugo began to stammer. “Oh…no, I…I shouldn’t…it’s…I mean, it’s lovely, but…I couldn’t.” He flushed darkly, dropping his eyes to the ground and added. “It’s not…I mean, it’s for a girl…I just…”

 

“Hush, Puppy. You’re yapping like a Chihuahua.” Scorpius teased, picking up the necklace. He was a bit surprised by how cool the metal was; he’d expected it to be sun-warmed. “You’re normally more like a cocker spaniel; quiet and loyal and adorable.” He added absently as he turned the necklace over in his hands, studying it.

 

“Oh. Sorry.” Scorpius turned to look at Hugo as the boy apologized and noticed his face was a dark red and he looked miserably at his own feet.

 

“Oh, I’m teasing!” Scorpius chided laughingly, tipping Hugo’s chin up so those blue eyes met his. “Relax, yeah?”

 

Scorpius then carefully undid the short, slender copper chain that would prevent the slender necklace from simply falling off Hugo’s neck and placed it around the boy’s neck, refastening the chain. The curve of metal hugged Hugo’s slender neck, the bottom edge of the metal resting just above the hollow of his throat. It practically glowed, the warm, rosy metal complimenting Hugo’s coloring perfectly.

 

“’Pi…” Hugo murmured, his breath hitching as Scorpius lightly traced warm fingers over the cool metal, brushing his skin as well. He looked up into dark grey eyes, feeling his chest tighten in a way that was perfectly wonderful. “I…”

 

Scorpius smiled suddenly. It was a fully-Slytherin smile; hot and sly and wicked. He turned to the vendor and gestured towards Hugo. “I’ll take it.”

 

“Oh, no…” Hugo tried to protest as Scorpius handed over the money without hesitating. “No, ‘Pi. You don’t need to do that…really. I don’t…I don’t need it…I…please, it’s okay…”

 

Scorpius turned back to Hugo; he couldn’t explain it, really, but he loved how Hugo looked with the narrow band of metal around his throat. And he loved the idea of being the one who’d put it there, which was why he’d paid for it without thought. His eyes moved over the curve of the metal again and he reached out to touch it lightly. Then Scorpius dragged his fingers up Hugo’s throat, tipping his flushed face up when he hit his chin. Hugo’s blue eyes were wide and his lips trembled slightly.

 

Scorpius’s smile softened slightly, though there was still a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Poor, shy little Puppy...” He teased softly, his tone gentle. “No need to fuss. I don’t mind buying it for you.” Then he tapped a single fingertip against the center of the metal, just above the hollow of Hugo’s throat and added with a wink. “Besides, every puppy should have a collar.”

 

As they continued on to the house, Hugo felt warm and happy. It had been the best day he’d had in a very long time and it was all because of Scorpius Malfoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay; a few things this time:
> 
> 1) As always, comments thrill me and if you should happen to spot any errors, please let me know so I can fix them!
> 
> 2) This is my favorite chapter so far, since I can see all the angles on it and I know what's going to happen next.
> 
> 3) I have never eaten a samosa, nor have i ever had a panipuri. Of any flavor. I have also never been to India, nor an open-air market. I have never eaten a vindaloo either, nor have I ever seen a fire-breathing performance. What I have done is a ridiculous amount of research. Which is exhausting and makes me miserable, but there you have it. If there are any mistakes or inaccuracies in that area, it is due to faulty research or a lack of knowledge and I apologize.
> 
> 4) This is being posted because today is Wolfy's birthday. Happy birthday, my pet! I hope you liked this chapter!!!
> 
> 5) There is angst coming up. A lot of it. Sorry in advance.
> 
> ~ Lady S. <3


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OFFICIAL ANGST WARNING!!! This is the beginning of the first wave of angst! I apologize in advance for it, quite profoundly, but unfortunately it is A) necessary and B) something I'm very good at writing. So yeah. <3
> 
> Kudos make me smile, but comments make my day!
> 
> ~ Lady S.

Hugo was practically glowing. Dinner was over, everyone was back from Manas (still slightly damp, hot, sweaty, and exhausted, but happy enough), and Hugo was resting in his room. He couldn’t keep the happy smile off his lips and that was part of why he was in his room. He wasn’t sure if Scorpius had told Albus about them yet and he didn’t want to cause a scene if the blonde hadn’t. He just wanted to lay there, sprawled across his bed, basking in the joy of his first date with Scorpius Malfoy. He was still lying there, stroking his fingers lazily over the warm copper of his necklace, when the door to the room opened and rich, male laughter flooded in.

 

“Yeah, yeah. G’night, then.” Albus was saying around a yawn and Hugo propped himself up on one elbow, peering across the darkening room to the doorway to see Scorpius standing just in the hallway, smiling and still chuckling softly.

 

Carefully containing the burst of joy that flooded him, Hugo gave a warm, shy smile and called out very softly. “Goodnight, ‘Pi. Sleep well.”

 

Scorpius turned his eyes to Hugo, who was wearing lightweight cotton sleep pants (the same black and yellow plaid from the day of the shower incident) and a white tee shirt, along with his new necklace. The Slytherin’s eyes locked on the necklace and a strange smile curved his lips. “Goodnight, Hugo. Pleasant dreams.” He turned to Albus and added. “Night, Al. See you in the morning.”

 

Al nodded and shut the door as Scorpius wandered off down the hall to his own room. Hugo let himself fall backwards, a huge grin once again curving his lips as he let out a happy sigh. Albus nudged his foot lightly and sat on the bed next to him. “You seem happy, Hugo.”

 

“Mmmm…” Hugo agreed, closing his eyes and just beaming. Deciding it might help Scorpius tell Albus about them if he laid a little groundwork first, he murmured. “Met someone.”

 

“Did you, now?” Albus was instantly intrigued. Hugo was very shy and rarely talked about who was interested in, since he was adamant about the fact that they couldn’t possibly like him back. Al thought his cousin didn’t give himself enough credit. “As in...a crush? A fling? What?”

 

“As in…I think I could fall in love with him, very easily.” Hugo admitted with a soft sigh, because he knew it was true. It felt surprisingly good to admit it out loud. He added quietly. “He’s just so… _perfect_.”

 

“Yeah?” Albus couldn’t help smiling fondly at his younger cousin. Hugo was so adorable; it was sweet to see him looking so happy. “Well, tell me about him then! Is he from India or is he on vacation?” When Hugo said vacation, but nothing else, Al prodded for more details. “Well, where’s he from? How long is he here for? Do you think he likes you back?”

 

Hugo bit his lip, blushing, opening his eyes to blink shyly at Albus. “He’s from England, like us. And he’s here until the end of the month.” Albus was still waiting for an answer to his final question, though, and said nothing, so Hugo dropped his eyes to watch his own fingers tracing idly over the swirling blue and white patterns on his sheets and added. “He likes me back, I think. I mean, I’m pretty sure. He…well, he _acts_ like he likes me back, anyway.”

 

Albus nudged Hugo’s side lightly and tried to sound reassuring. “Unless he’s a total prat, then I’m sure he likes you back. But why don’t you tell me what he’s done to make you think he likes you back so I can weigh in, yeah?”

 

“He, um…well, he held my hand.” Hugo admitted, blushing deeply and biting his lip again. He pushed himself up to sitting, facing Albus and fidgeting. “Like, fingers-locked-together, held my hand. A couple of different times.”

 

Albus nodded, looking thoughtful. “That’s a good sign, actually. It means there’s affection there. Not necessarily romantic, though. I’ve got friends I do that with, without it meaning anything. Still, if you’ve just met him, it’s a good sign.”

 

“Actually, we haven’t…we haven’t _just_ met.” Hugo said, a bit warily; he was trying to judge Al’s reactions so he knew how much to say. He really didn’t want to cause a fight or a rift between Albus and Scorpius; they were best friends, after all. “We’ve known each other for years, in fact. Not…not, like, closely or anything, mind you. But…you know. In passing. He goes to Hogwarts.”

 

“Oh. Well, at least you know you’ll see him again.” Albus pointed out, considering this new information and then asking. “So, was it just the hand-holding or was there more?”

 

“Well, he fed me something from his fingers.” Hugo admitted, peeking up at Albus from under his eyelashes. “A panipuri from a street vendor. And he bought me a present, for no reason…”

 

Albus watched as Hugo’s eyes went dreamy and his fingers absently stroked across the copper curving around his throat. Then his eyes widened because Scorpius had told him he’d bought Hugo a necklace, joking that, ‘ _I got the puppy a collar…now all he needs is a leash and tags in case he gets lost so the authorities know who to bring him back to!’_ Albus burst out laughing. “Oh Merlin…oh, Hugo, please, _please_ tell me you’re not talking about Scorpius!” More laughter when Hugo looked at him warily, then he got out between giggles. “You’re killing me here, Hugo. That’s hilarious. I totally bought into that for a few minutes there!”

 

Now Hugo was getting angry. He didn’t get angry often, but when he did it was a strange combination of his father’s volatile temper and his mother’s cool anger that made him seem less-dangerous then he actually was. “And what’s so funny about the idea of me and Scorpius?” He demanded in a low, frigid tone he’d learned from Hermione. “I fail to see the humor here, Albus.”

 

Albus wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, snorted softly, and then sighed, grinning at Hugo. “Oh come off it, Hugo. It was a good joke, but don’t drag it out too far. Like ‘Pi would ever really be interested in someone like you…” He snorted again, shaking his head and still grinning. “I liked the dreamy look. That was a nice touch.”

 

And now Hugo’s anger was melting away as agony blossomed in his chest, like snow faced with the spring sun. Tears beaded on his eyelashes, then fell; one at a time, then faster and faster, until – in a matter of seconds – they were running down pale cheeks in little rivers of salty wetness. “Someone like me…? I thought you said only a complete prat wouldn’t like me back.” Hugo’s voice was choked and hurt and Albus was staring at him in dawning horror. “So what’s that mean, Allie? _Someone like me_ …”

 

“Oh crap.” Albus realized with a sickening sense of certainty that his cousin had not been kidding. That he had actually believed Scorpius Malfoy was interested in him. _‘I think I could fall in love with him, very easily.’_ His cousin’s words echoed in his head and he reached for Hugo, scrambling to correct his mistake and stop the tears. “I didn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, Hugo, I swear. I just meant…I mean, it’s not that…he’s just…well, yeah, he is something of a prat, but that’s not…” Albus was scrambling desperately for the right words as he tried to hug his cousin, finally blurting out. “You’re just…you’re not his _type_ , that’s all.”

 

“Not his type?” Hugo demanded, flinging himself off the bed and out of Albus’s reach, glaring. “What does that even _mean_ , Albus? Not his type…well what is, then? Because it sure seemed like I was his type today when he was holding my hand and feeding me things and buying me stuff!” Hugo’s voice had raised slightly, thought he wasn’t quite yelling, and his hands were clenched into fists.

 

“Scorpius is just…he’s just friendly, you know?” Albus tried to explain, keeping his voice soft and calming. “He always buys people stuff and doesn’t think anything of touching people casually. Araminta says it’s because his mother and grandmother refused to let anyone discourage him from showing affection through touching when he was little, because his father was discouraged and he barely tolerates being touched at all and they didn’t want that to happen to ‘Pi.” He hoped he was getting through to Hugo because he didn’t want to see his cousin hurt. “He doesn’t mean much by it. It’s just…how he is. And his type is…well…Gryffindors, I suppose.”

 

“Gryffindors…” Hugo looked at Albus like he’d sprouted a second head or a third eyeball or something equally disturbing. “What does that even mean, his type is _Gryffindors_? How can a House be a type, Albus?”

 

Albus huffed out an annoyed breath. “You know what I mean!” He snapped, starting to get frustrated with Hugo’s stubborn refusal to listen to him and his own inability to find the right words. “Brave and outgoing and daring. But, you know, not _stupidly_ like James. More sly and clever then that. Witty and brash and loud. Stubborn. Forceful. Outdoorsy and masculine, but not a brute.”

 

Hugo narrowed his eyes, tears still streaming down his cheeks. His chest felt incredibly tight; like there were iron bands wrapping around him that were constricting his breathing. “You _do_ realize you just described yourself, don’t you?” He asked icily. “And Scorpius said he thinks I’m brave!”

 

“No, I didn’t just describe _myself!_ ” Albus snapped back, glaring at Hugo now. Was his cousin being deliberately aggravating? “I’m telling you the sort of guy Scorpius has _always_ wanted! He’s my best friend, Hugo. Has been for more than 5 years. I _know_ him. And you’re _not_ his type, whether he thinks you’re brave or not. I’m sorry, but you should just forget about it before you wind up embarrassing yourself in front of him.”

 

Hugo gave him a look of pure hatred, spat out ‘ _Fuck you!’_ in a hoarse voice, then ran from the room. His sobs echoed back down the hall to Albus for a moment before the door finished swinging shut with a quiet snick and cut them off. He felt bad, but figured he’d give Hugo a little space to calm down and talk to him again later. No point in chasing after him when he was this upset; he wouldn’t listen anyway. _‘Besides,’_ Albus told himself as he crawled into his bed. _‘Better he hears it now, from me, then later from ‘Pi. He’ll thank me in the morning, when he’s calmed down, for telling him the truth.’_

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Scorpius walked into the Commons on their side of the interior garden around mid-morning on Tuesday, July 19th, and immediately spotted Albus. His fellow-Slytherin was lounging carelessly on a plush armchair, munching a piece of toast spread thinly with marmite. He wondered if his friend had brought the marmite with him on vacation or if one of the servants or adults had managed to get some for his friend. Albus often claimed he couldn’t function without marmite for breakfast; he had even bribed the house elves at Hogwarts to keep jars of it in the kitchens just for him. They sent it up to the Slytherin table every morning. When you were the son of Harry Potter, house elves would do just about anything for you, even if they thought you were crazy for wanting odd, salty Muggle spread for your toast.

 

“Morning.” Albus called out, giving a little wave with the toast and looking barely awake. “Oh, and I’ve got something to tell you. Wait until you hear this; you’re going to die.”

 

Scorpius – who had already eaten and was now freshly-showered and dressed for the day in a full set of blue and gold shalwar kameez – quirked an eyebrow at Al’s pajamas and ignored the other teen’s statement; Albus always thought he had something positively fascinating to say. “Lazy today, are we?” He asked instead, sitting down and managing to sprawl sideways across the chair – one leg over an arm, the other on the floor – in a way that looked elegant rather than haphazard. “Is Hugo still in bed? He missed our yoga session. He’s not sick again, is he?”

 

Before Albus could say anything, James stormed into the room from the garden, glaring and looking ready to murder someone. His wand was clenched in his fist and kept spitting out red sparks. “What the _fuck_ did you say to him, Albus?” He demanded in a furious growl.

 

And Albus glared right back, realizing his cousin had at some point ended up in his brother’s room and attempted to tattle on him to said-brother. “I told him the truth, James. It’s not my fault he didn’t want to hear it.” His voice was cool and firm, then he viciously bit off a chunk of his toast and added a little defensively. “He’s lucky he heard it from me and not ‘Pi. He ought to be thanking me instead of crying to you like a baby.”

 

“Which brings me to my next order of business with you fucking Slytherin wankers.” James snarled, whirling on the blonde, who was feeling more than a little lost. “Where the fuck do _you_ get off, playing with my cousin’s feelings like that? He’s been in my room, crying his eyes out, all night, because you’re apparently the biggest prat in the world. I only _just_ got him to go to sleep! He’s a wreck!”

 

Scorpius looked between the two Potter boys, feeling at a complete loss. “I’m sorry…could someone please fill me in on what’s going on?” He demanded, crossing his arms huffily over his chest. The fuck if he was going to be blamed for something without an explanation. “Which of your many cousins did I supposedly make cry and how?”

 

“Don’t try to play innocent with me, Malfoy! I’ll hex your bollocks off before you can blink.” James brandished his wand threateningly. “Taking Hugo out, treating it like a date, making him fall for you when you don’t give a damn about him…that’s low. Even for a Slytherin. Hell, it’s low even for a _Malfoy_.” It had taken James a long time to accept that not only were his brother and sister Slytherins, but his brother’s best friend was a _Malfoy_ , of all things. But that reluctant acceptance extended only to Scorpius himself, and did not include his family who – in the eyes of James Sirius Potter – were the lowest of the low. And apparently it no longer included Scorpius, either. Thus, having spat out the worst insult he could think of, James ended with. “Just who do you think you are, anyway?”

 

And while Scorpius stared at James in shock, his mind whirling as he struggled to put the words _date_ and _Hugo_ into the same sentence and have them still make sense, Albus defended himself. “Look, I just told him that he’s not ‘Pi’s type. Which is the truth. And I’m sure ‘Pi wasn’t trying to lead Hugo on. Hugo just misunderstood things, that’s all. No one’s fault.”

 

“You made him _cry!”_ James reiterated angrily. “I had to listen as he sobbed the entire fucking night, Al. I got _no sleep_ because you’re a fucking prat!”

 

“Well, what was I supposed to do then?” Albus demanded, shoving to his feet and going toe-to-toe with his older brother. “What would have made it okay? Letting him think Scorpius was really going to date him? Would you be happier if I’d fucking _lied?_ ”

 

“You should have kept your mouth shut and just let me handle it.” Scorpius’s voice was cool and whisper-soft and diffused the Potters’ tempers immediately. “You’ve got no tact, Al. You should have let me tell him he was mistaken.” He turned to look at James, an odd pang in his chest making him pause before he asked. “He really cried?”

 

“For many, many, _many_ hours.” James confirmed, sinking into a chair and staring broodily out at the garden. “I felt terrible for him, but I didn’t really know what to say to make it any better. He was just so…miserable over it. He really took a shine to you, Scorpius, though Merlin only knows why. I was about ready to get Rose or Aunt Hermione when he finally cried himself out and fell asleep about an hour or so ago. I tried sleeping myself, but I decided I’d sleep better after I murdered the two of you.”

 

“Fuck.” Scorpius felt another pang and sighed, his brow furrowing as he thought. “Alright. Well, I’d appreciate you not killing me until I’ve had a chance to sort this whole mess out.” James chuckled tiredly and nodded. “Then I guess I’ll just…well, I don’t know what I’ll do, actually. But I’ll do something. Talk to him, at least. Try to explain. He’s sweet, really, but I don’t think of him that way.”

 

Albus was grumbling under his breath and was slouched in his chair again. James frowned, but nodded. “I better not have him come crying to me again, Scorpius. Don’t you dare make things worse. You’ll find yourself on the wrong end of my wand if that happens, are we clear?”

 

Scorpius snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, unlike your arsekettle of a brother here, I don’t make a habit out of kicking pathetic Fluff-N-Puff puppies until they cry.”

 

A very small sound – a mere whimper of distress – from behind him had Scorpius and the other boys whipping around. Hugo stood in the doorway that led to the interior garden, still dressed in pajamas. His curly hair was in disarray, his face was terribly pale and tear-stained, and his eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. Tears filled his deep blue eyes and his lower lip began to tremble. His gaze was locked on Scorpius, completely ignoring his cousins.

 

In a breathless, agonized whisper, he asked. “You think I’m pathetic?” The pain written across his pretty face caused something inside of Scorpius to tighten painfully.

 

“Shit, Hugo…I didn’t mean…” But before Scorpius could explain that the dig had been meant for Albus, not Hugo, the boy bolted. “FUCK!” Scorpius screamed. He stood and kicked an end table over, sending a lamp crashing to the floor where it shattered loudly. Then he turned and flipped over the chair he’d been sitting on before turning to glare at Albus. “See what you’ve done now, you idiot? If you’d just kept your fucking mouth shut and told _me_ what was going on instead of trying to handle it yourself, this never would have happened!”

 

And without another word, Scorpius tore out of the room, running after the boy he’d never meant to hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that you've read the chapter, I have several apologies to make.
> 
> Firstly: I apologize for the cliffhanger. I debated about continuing the chapter, but in the end it felt better to end it there. Sorry!
> 
> Secondly: I apologize for how big of a fucking arsekettle Albus is in this chapter. I'm actually quite fond of Allie, but it was necessary to move the plot along. He's not a bad guy; he was just trying to do the right thing. He's just...got no tact.
> 
> Thirdly: I apologize for the sheer idiocy and head-up-his-own-ass-ness of Scorpius, both in this chapter and in past/future chapters. I swear to you, I've got both a proctologist and a general surgeon working to extricate said head from said ass as we speak.
> 
> Kudos really do make me smile, but comments make my day. I hoard and reread them like a weird little psycho. <3 I also reply whenever I can. ^_^ Let me know if you see any errors so I can correct them.
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter and I'll try to get the next one up soon!
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	9. Chapter Eight

Scorpius wasn’t sure where Hugo had hidden himself away for more than four days – or what excuses he was giving for his absence from meals and planned group activities – but it was Saturday afternoon before he finally found the boy. By then, he was frustrated, angry, and hurting. He felt strangely betrayed by the Hufflepuff. Hugo should have given him the chance to explain. He shouldn’t have just assumed – not that they were dating, not that Albus knew what he was talking about (although that one had been true), and not that Scorpius was insulting him. He should have come to Scorpius and talked it over. That was what reasonable people did. They talked it out. He didn’t like having the worst thought of him; something that had happened all too frequently in his younger years, before he’d proven (both to his teachers and to his classmates) that he was _not_ his father or his grandfather. And, as it turned out, he didn’t like being avoided, either.

 

When he came across Hugo at last, it was actually an accident. He was walking the vast outdoor gardens in an attempt to clear his mind; yoga had become less-soothing since Hugo had stopped showing up for lessons. He heard the singing and stopped to listen for a moment before following the sound. It was a beautiful female voice; low and sweet despite the eerie words to the song. As he continued towards it, whoever was singing paused long enough to let Scorpius be sure the song was over before she began to sing it again from the beginning.

 

“Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where they strung up a man they say murdered three?” She sang as Scorpius rounded some hedges in the hopes of finding the owner of the enchanting voice. “Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem, if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.”

 

Scorpius stepped into a clearing, still entranced by the horrifying words and the lovely voice that was singing them so sweetly. “Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where the dead man called out for his love to flee? Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem, if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.”

 

He came to a complete halt as he took in the scene before him. Spread out on a small grassy area was a large blue blanket. Seraphim Smith – the-Hufflepuff-who-should-have-been-a-Slytherin, who was dating Freddie – was sitting on it. She was wearing a long gypsy skirt that was patterned in dark brown, tan, and deep green and a cream-colored, off-the-shoulder peasant top. Her long, sandy-blonde hair was free and flowed down around her shoulders to the middle of her back. She was sitting Indian-style slightly off-center on the blanket. Hugo was lying with his eyes closed, his head on her lap, as she stroked his hair and sang in the most amazing voice Scorpius had ever heard.

 

“Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where I told you to run so we’d both be free? Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem, if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.” As she sang, Seraphim locked eyes with Scorpius and glared, though her voice remained sweet as she finished with the final verse of the song. “Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Wear a necklace of rope, side-by-side with me. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem, if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.”

 

Her voice fell silent for a moment, then Hugo sighed softly and Scorpius dropped his eyes to the boy’s tear-stained face. Hugo’s face was pale and drawn, with the freckles on his nose and cheeks standing out starkly. His eyelashes were damp where they curled against his cheeks. His breath stuttered unevenly in his sleep and he made a quiet whimpering sound. Seraphim made a soft shushing sound and carded her fingers through his hair, humming quietly while glaring daggers at Scorpius.

 

When the boy had settled somewhat, she hissed angrily at him. “What are you doing here, Malfoy? I think you’ve done enough damage, don’t you?”

 

“I didn’t do _anything_!” Scorpius hissed back, mindful of the dark circles under Hugo’s eyes that said he sorely needed this sleep. “Albus did it, not me! I’ve been trying to talk to Hugo for _days_ to sort this whole bloody mess out!”

 

Seraphim rolled her eyes and carefully lowered Hugo’s head onto the blanket before rising. She shook out her skirt, then moved to stand by Scorpius who noted that she was barefoot. “Look.” Her voice was level but slightly-strained as though she longed to scream at him; it also gave no hint that she would sound like the angel she was named for if she were singing. “Hugo doesn’t want to talk to you. He wants to be left alone so he can lick his wounds in peace. So instead of poking and prodding at him, you could do the decent thing and back off, alright?”

 

Scorpius glared at her. “No, it’s not alright.” He snapped, crossing his arms angrily. “He hasn’t given me a chance to explain anything and that’s not fair. He _assumed_ we were on a date; I never said we were. He _assumed_ I liked him romantically; I never said I did. He _assumed_ I was calling him pathetic when he heard a single comment out of context; I absolutely wasn’t. I’ve got a right to explain all of that and to try to sort this all out. He was…well, he was becoming something of a very dear friend and he owes me a few minutes to talk.”

 

“I see.” Seraphim considered this for a moment, then glanced over at where Hugo was sleeping. He was starting to get restless and she sighed, looking defeated. “Look, he’s a wreck, Score.” She called him that only when she was being completely honest with him; it was a carry-over from when they were very young children, before they’d started at Hogwarts and stopped speaking in anything except scathing insults and pithy comments. “Just…give him some space for a little bit, okay? I’ll talk to him for you. Tell him he needs to give you a chance to talk and explain.”

 

“Thank you.” Scorpius replied, his voice soft and low again, in an effort to not disturb Hugo further. “Why are you sitting out here with him when he clearly needs to be sleeping, anyway?”

 

“Because he can’t seem to sleep without my voice right now.” Seraphim explained as she crossed back to the blanket and began settling herself back in. As she lifted Hugo’s head carefully back into her lap, she added. “I often sing to the First and Second years when they get homesick and I always have, even when I was a First year myself. Hugo seems to find my voice soothing right now. And I don’t mind if it keeps him asleep.”

 

Scorpius swallowed hard as Seraphim began to sing the eerie song from before again. “Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where they strung up a man they say murdered three?” She sang. When she noticed the odd look on Scorpius’s face, she stopped and demanded. “What?”

 

“I just…why that song? I mean, isn’t it sort of…gruesome and creepy?” He asked, making a face. Double-suicide wasn’t exactly something he thought of as ‘soothing’ even in Seraphim’s gorgeous voice. “I mean, it sounds lovely when you sing it, but the lyrics…”

 

“Well, it’s Hugo’s favorite song.” Seraphim defended herself coldly. “And I’m quite fond of it myself, creepy or not. It’s what I normally sing and it’s working just fine, so kindly piss off.”

 

As she resumed singing once more, Scorpius slipped back into the gardens. Her voice followed him, hauntingly beautiful, for longer than he would have thought possible considering how softly she’d been singing. Something about that song – and using it to soothe someone who was apparently brokenhearted – seemed very, very wrong to Scorpius. He shivered as her voice finally faded out and tried to shake off the strange, prickling sensation he’d been left with. Then he hurried into the house, hoping she’d talk to Hugo soon and he could sort this whole thing out before James decided to murder him over lost-sleep and Freddie killed him over losing time with his girlfriend. All-in-all, this summer wasn’t turning out how he’d expected.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Late Saturday evening, when Hugo knocked tentatively on the door to the room Scorpius was sharing with Louis, he was seriously hoping the blonde would be elsewhere. So the slightly-harassed-sounding response of “ _Come_ _in!”_ didn’t exactly thrill him. But he’d promised Seraphim that he’d give Scorpius a few minutes of his time. And Hugo didn’t break promises, so he slowly opened the door.

 

Scorpius glanced over as the door was pushed slowly open, still attempting to tug a gorgeous pair of silvery-blue silk pajamas out of Louis Weasley’s grip. When he spotted Hugo, he yanked harder. Louis lost his grip and tumbled backwards, landing on his ass on the floor. “Tu putain de trou du cul!” The Veela spat, glaring daggers at his fellow Slytherin. “Give them to me!”

 

“No, you spoiled little brat, I will not!” Scorpius snarled back, turning and tucking the pajamas into a drawer. “They’re mine and you can’t have them. Go harass one of your relatives if you want a pair, but keep your greedy little hands off of my things! Hugo, please ignore your cousin and come in.”

 

Louis switched tactics immediately while Hugo slid into the room, though he didn’t go any further than two steps to the left of the doorway. Just in case he needed to make a hasty retreat. “But, Scorpius, darling…” Louis shifted up onto his knees, lowering his eyelashes and licking his bottom lip slowly and seductively. “Just think how lovely I’d look wearing _your_ silk pajamas…”

 

Scorpius snorted, struggling to pretend he hadn’t seen the flash of jealousy chased by pain that danced briefly across Hugo’s face before he managed to smother the emotions. “Your scrawny Veela arse – wrapped in silk or otherwise – holds no appeal for me, Louis. Now get out.”

 

Louis huffed angrily, the seductive look dropping from his face in the blink of an eye. “You really are an arse, Scorpius.” He spat, getting gracefully to his feet. “And this is my room as well, so you can’t just kick me out!”

 

“Actually, I can and I am.” Scorpius snapped back. “Because unlike the whole of your family, I’m not afraid of your mother or your sisters. So go whinge to them all you like, little baby Veela.” Scorpius’s voice dripped condescension and he gave a dismissive little wave of his hand, looking bored. “Because I truly don’t give a fuck.”

 

Louis glared at him for another moment, then huffed in annoyance and said bitterly. “You’re damned lucky you’re gorgeous, Scorpius. It’s the only reason you’ll ever find someone, as you’re the biggest prat alive. Though to be perfectly honest, I can’t see _anyone_ being eager to shackle themselves to a wanker like you, even if you _are_ ridiculously attractive. That personality is just too hard to get past.”

 

Then he stormed out of the room without another word, leaving behind a tense, awkward silence that made Scorpius wish he’d refused to room with the Veela while Hugo wished he’d never found the courage to knock on the door. “Hi.” Hugo muttered and he was horrified by how scratchy his voice came out.

 

Scorpius felt his stomach knot in on itself; Hugo looked positively miserable. His hair was unbrushed. His face was ashen and gaunt, as though he hadn’t been eating properly for several days. His beautiful blue eyes were bloodshot and ringed with dark circles that spoke of tears and sleepless nights. He looked swallowed-up by the oversized white tee-shirt and loose, dark-blue cotton sleep pants he was wearing; the same outfit he’d been wearing while curled up in the gardens with his head on Seraphim’s lap. He looked like a small child who was sick, or perhaps one who had had a particularly awful nightmare. He looked very young and very vulnerable and Scorpius felt very low indeed for having reduced the bright, bubbly boy to this.

 

“I’m sorry.” Hugo whispered the words and Scorpius simply stared at him because he had no idea what the boy could possibly be apologizing for. “My family…they’re a little overbearing. I’ve told them to leave you alone. It’s not…” Hugo’s breath hitched and he stopped, squeezing his eyes shut and forcing himself to take several deep breaths before he continued. “It’s not your fault. I should have realized…”

 

“ _You_ should have realized?” Scorpius asked, moving closer to where Hugo was leaning against the wall beside the door. “ _I_ should have realized. I never thought of how things might seem to you. I should have been clearer about…about everything. I’m so sorry, Hugo. I never intended to hurt you.”

 

“I know.” Hugo whispered, opening his eyes and managing a very wan smile. “I don’t blame you. It’s my own fault. Albus was right. It was stupid of me to think you were interested.”

 

Scorpius immediately began to protest; Hugo wasn’t his type, but he wasn’t undesirable. “Hugo, that’s not…”

 

“Don’t.” Hugo cut him off; his voice was soft but firm. “Just don’t. I’m not angry with you for not returning my feelings. I’m not even angry with Al anymore for telling me, though he didn’t have to be quite so obnoxious about the whole thing. But I need some time and some space. If you could just give me that, it would mean a lot to me.”

 

Scorpius swallowed hard, but nodded. “I just don’t want to lose your friendship.” He told the younger boy, wishing he could tug the little Hufflepuff into his arms or smooth his hair back from his face, but he knew somehow that his touch would shatter the teen and he didn’t want to cause Hugo any more pain. “I care about you and I enjoy your company. I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me, but I’d…I’d like it if you were still my friend.”

 

Hugo swallowed hard and, despite how painful it was, nodded. “I’ll try very hard to still be your friend, Scorpius. But I need space first. And a little bit of time. Just…just give me that. Please. I’ll let you know when I’m…when I feel we can be friends again.”

 

“Alright.” Scorpius agreed, still feeling twisted and tangled up inside. Hugo nodded and stepped sideways, closer to the door. As his fingers closed around the doorknob and twisted, Scorpius added. “I really am sorry, Hugo. I swear it.”

 

Hugo merely nodded and slipped out of the room, shutting the door softly behind himself. Scorpius walked over to his bed and sank down onto it, feeling suddenly exhausted. He hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to have things not go back to how they’d been before. It was a relief to know he hadn’t lost Hugo’s friendship entirely, but the easy relationship they’d had was a thing of the past. There would always be these last few days hanging over them, dark and horrid and miserable. There would always be the shadows of Hugo’s pain and his own guilt, dappling the sunny, carefree nature of their previous friendship. There would always be the knowledge that, had things played out differently, Hugo might have loved Scorpius and the certainty that Scorpius would not have felt the same.

 

Things would never be – _could_ never be– the same. And though Scorpius understood that fact – in a very distant, abstract fashion – he had no idea just how different things would turn out to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOO sorry for the delay in posting!!! OMG! But my stupid broadband device BROKE (and I mean it LITERALLY snapped in half) and I had no internet.
> 
> BUT, on the upside, I managed to finish my HD_Hols fic AND three others...including this one!!! So now I'm going to rapid-fire update this and give you the whole thing!
> 
> YAY!!! <3
> 
> Comments make me happy!
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	10. Chapter Nine

Scorpius had a hard time enjoying their final week in India. Though Hugo stopped hiding after their talk, the younger teen still looked very ill. Hermione, Rose, and many of the other Weasleys (both male and female) fussed over him. Scorpius didn’t know what Hugo told everyone was wrong (perhaps he’d even told them the truth) because he was trying to do as he’d been asked. He was trying to give Hugo time and space. It wasn’t easy, of course, because every time he saw the pale, miserable boy, Scorpius just wanted to scoop him up in his arms and snuggle him until he felt better.

Scorpius did his best to squash his protective feelings for Hugo, knowing they were part of what had caused the whole mess in the first place. Those, combined with the fact that Hugo still put him in mind of a puppy. He couldn’t do much about the puppy-comparison but he really was doing his best to pretend he didn’t want to pet and soothe Hugo into smiling more often.

And giving the boy space seemed to be working, somewhat. By the time Friday, July 29th (the day they were leaving India for Egypt), dawned (cool and misty, which would fade into hot and humid in matter of hours), Hugo had stopped looking so pale all of the time. He had also begun to smile every now and then and Albus had told Scorpius – very quietly, when no one else was around – that Hugo was sleeping in their room again. In the misty, post-dawn light, Scorpius worked his way through his yoga routine, which had been getting longer each day since everything with Hugo had happened and was now nearly double the length it had been on the first day Hugo hadn’t shown up for lessons. It seemed it was taking more and more to center him and, to be perfectly honest, the effect wasn’t lasting the whole day anyway. It was unsettling, to say the least.

So, as he sank into child’s pose at the end of his routine, his mind was not quite as calm and quiet as he would have preferred. And it was that strange, edgy quality that alerted him to the tiny sound of rustling fabric. His head snapped up and he locked eyes with Hugo, who was poised at the edge of the area Scorpius did yoga in as though ready to flee. There was a long, tense pause and Scorpius mentally ran through a dozen and a half things he could say, none of which seemed quite right.

Finally, he gave a very small smile, and said softly. “Glad you could join me. Maybe next time you’ll manage to be on time.” Then he went back into child’s pose, forcing himself to breath evenly as he listened for Hugo’s response.

When it came, several moments later, it was whisper-soft. “I’d have been on time today, but I wasn’t sure if I was still welcome.”

Scorpius finished his final pose and sat up, giving Hugo a very sad smile. “You’ve always been welcome, Hugo. That never changed.”

Hugo studied Scorpius’s face for a few seconds, then he nodded very slowly. “Alright. Then I suppose…I suppose I can join you tomorrow morning. You’ll just have to let me know where when you decide.”

“Of course.” Scorpius agreed. Then he glanced up at the sun, which was rapidly burning off the cooling mist and added. “We should go eat and then pack. From what I understand, your mother wants to make an early start of it.”

“Yeah, she likes to get the traveling done first thing so she can adjust to the new place for the rest of the day.” Hugo’s lips quirked up slightly and Scorpius was thrilled that Hugo seemed able to smile at him again, even if it wasn’t the same easy smile from before. “Dad says when we travel later in the day, Mum is up for half the night trying to settle.” There was a small, slightly-stuttering laugh and Hugo blushed faintly, admitting. “I’m the same way. I can never sleep my first night back at Hogwarts or my first night home again.”

Scorpius smiled back and murmured. “Well, we’d better get going then. I shouldn’t want you to lose any more sleep.” And that was as close as he was willing to come to the issue at hand, for which Hugo seemed grateful.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alexandria was hot. Humid, too, considering they were basically in a desert. Of course, it was much more bearable in Alexandria, so close to the Mediterranean Sea, that it was in Cairo. Scorpius thanked Merlin for Hermione Granger-Weasley’s insistence that they stay in Alexandria so she could have the easiest access to the supposedly-destroyed Library at Alexandria. There were some advantages to being witches and wizards, after all, such as having access to knowledge that had been lost to Muggles for thousands of years. When Caesar accidentally set fire to the Library, the Egyptian witches and wizards had decided to seal away copies of everything they had managed to save; which was a lot of it, actually. All the subsequent damage to the Library – in both fires and earthquakes – had had no effect on the knowledge secreted away in a second library by the magical community. Hermione was eager to get her hands on some of the books and scrolls she’d heard about. So was Rose.

Scorpius was interested too, of course, since he was a little bit Ravenclaw-ish at times, but he was also interested in seeing the pyramids at Giza and exploring both Alexandria and Cairo. The best part of being in Egypt with the Weasleys was that Al’s uncle, Bill, was a Curse Breaker and had worked in Egypt for several years. Which meant he had contacts and could gain them access to all of the really cool things no one else got to see. Like the interior of the Sphinx. Scorpius couldn’t wait.

Their hotel was actually a Wizarding Hotel, set just outside the city on the edge of the desert. They had access to a special teleport-pad (which was apparently the Egyptian version of a Floo system, since no one in their right mind wanted a lit fireplace in Egypt at noon in August) that they could use to access several other locations. Namely the beach, the Wizarding Library, Cairo, Giza, and a shopping district. There were several other locations as well, but nothing that interested Scorpius.

It hadn’t been hard to select a place to do his yoga; the hotel had a lovely poolside garden with lots of open space. Scorpius let Hugo know as soon as they arrived and he’d looked around. Then, he settled himself into his and Albus’s room. Their room assignments were different for Egypt due to several people having left. Alexander Nott had been sent home on the same International Portkey used to send Molly Anne’s friend Krystall back to England. Scorpius personally thought that if International Portkeys hadn’t been so difficult to set up, Alex would have been sent home immediately after throwing Hugo into the pool. And though Krystall had wanted to come to Egypt, her parents hadn’t wanted her gone for the whole summer so she’d had to go home. The Longbottoms and their daughter, Alice, had gone home to England (having found Professor Longbottom’s orchid, which he’d collected several specimens of in the hopes of being able to cultivate it in a greenhouse) and the Scamanders had jaunted off to New Zealand. Their twins, Lorcan and Lysander, had wanted to come along with the Weasleys to Egypt, though, and since Harry and Ginny were their godparents Luna and Rolf had had no objections.

Everyone else had stayed, but the now-uneven number of boys and the disappearance of two girls from different rooms had called for a rearranging of rooms. The adults were, of course, still roomed in their couple-formation. Freddie and James were still roomed together, as were Mint and ‘Phim, and Dominique and Roxanne. Roxie’s boyfriend, Oliver, was now rooming with Louis (and, quite frankly, Scorpius thought they deserved each other) and Scorpius was with Albus. Hugo had been given his own room, which might have seemed unfair except that Hugo was so sweet that you couldn’t be jealous of him. Molly Anne was now rooming with her sister Lucy, since her friend Krystall was gone and Rose was rooming with Lily Luna, since Alice was home.

Scorpius was unpacking when Albus stuck his head in the door, his hair wet from the pool. The dark-haired boy hadn’t unpacked yet; his suitcase was sitting on his bed, open and riffled-through from digging for his swimsuit. “Hey, ‘Pi. A bunch of us are heading into town to look around. You want to come?”

“No, thank you.” Scorpius replied, smiling easily at Albus. “I’d like to finish settling in before I do anything. You know how I am.”

Albus chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I do. You take anal retentive to a whole new level, ‘Pi. You know that, right?” When Scorpius merely shrugged, Albus waved. “Alright, well…we shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours. Call my cell phone if you want to find us.”

“Alright, Al. Have fun.” He said, waving back as Albus ducked back out of the room. One of the things Scorpius loved best about his friendship with Albus Severus Potter was the completely undemanding nature of it. They didn’t need to be together all the time and Al would never get offended at ‘Pi’s refusal to go somewhere with him.

Another thing he loved was the fact that Draco had agreed to let Scorpius get a cell phone for his 14th birthday, since all the Weasley-Potter children had them and he wanted to be able to keep in touch with his friends over the summer while they jaunted off around the world. Araminta’s parents had been talked into getting her one the same way when she was 15; so she could keep in touch with her new boyfriend. It had helped that Scorpius had already had one for a year, so she was able to point out that at least one of her “non-Weasley friends” also had one. ‘Phim had gotten one over the Christmas holidays of their 5th year, since she couldn’t bear to let Araminta have something she didn’t. Privately, Scorpius had often wondered if she was only dating Freddie because Mint was dating James and if Mint had a Weasley boyfriend, so would she…but he didn’t dare mention that out loud, because Freddie would kill him for defaming ‘Phim; he really seemed to care about her. It might have been sweet, if it hadn’t been so nauseating.

Shaking his head, Scorpius went back to unpacking his things.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hugo was pleased to have his own room. Not because he didn’t like sharing with any of his cousins; he loved them all very much, even Louis. Just because this way there was no one to tattle to his mum if he didn’t sleep through the night. And no one could sneak up on him when he was brooding or being sulky or whatever. Not that being alone was working out for him thus far. He was currently sitting on his bed with the Scamander twins; they’d offered to help him unpack and hadn’t left since.

“You should go for a walk in the desert.” Lorcan was saying. “It’s really supposed to be very soothing and therapeutic.”

“I do yoga now.” Hugo said simply, rolling his eyes. “That’s plenty soothing and therapeutic. No need to go hiking through sand and sun when I can just twist myself like a pretzel.”

Lysander sighed, sounding much-put-upon. “You’re just no fun at all, Hugo.” He purred, rolling over onto his stomach to blink up at Hugo with those long, blue cat eyes. “You really ought to just go after what you want.”

“Except he doesn’t want me and I don’t want to be that pathetic.” Hugo pointed out, looking morose again. “He made his position on things perfectly clear.”

“Feelings can change, you know. If you give them time and enough reason.” Lorcan’s voice lilted slightly differently than Lysander’s which was how Hugo could tell them apart; he’d never understood why everyone else had so much trouble with it.

“Sometimes all the time and reasons in the world can’t change things.” Hugo replied softly, giving the twins a sad smile. “And I’d rather not waste my time.”

“Suit yourself.” The twins chorused, sounding almost echo-y when they spoke in unison. Then Lorcan added. “We’ll just leave you to settle in some more, then. Don’t want you up half the night any more then we want Aunt Hermione up half the night.”

“Thanks.” Hugo replied, tipping his face up so each of the twins could give him a kiss on the cheek. They did so, then left the room. Hugo had never felt more alone in his life.


	11. Chapter Ten

Scorpius had been enjoying Egypt. They’d been there for a week and a half and it was now Tuesday, August 9th; his birthday. Hugo had been doing yoga with him each morning, though they didn’t spend much time together during the rest of the day. Still, it was nice to have a little bit of time with the boy, just the two of them, where he didn’t feel like all of Hugo’s cousins were watching and waiting for him to make Hugo cry again. Scorpius had spent two days with Rose and Hermione at the Library before growing tired of sitting in the dark with dusty books (he was only a little Ravenclaw-ish, after all) and had then spent a couple of days exploring both Alexandria and Cairo with Albus and some of the others. They’d then spent Thursday and Friday at the beach and the weekend exploring pyramids at Giza. Monday he’d gone back to the Library, then regretted it almost immediately and fled to the beach.

Today, however, Scorpius was planning to spend some time by himself. He finished yoga with Hugo, said goodbye to the boy, and slipped out of the hotel while almost everyone else was still asleep. Then he headed for the shop he’d come across earlier in the week; a tattoo parlor known as “Indelible Inking” which had made Scorpius roll his eyes. Of course, the place wasn’t open at such an early hour, but Scorpius hadn’t been expecting it to be. He sat down on the ground outside the shop, tugged a book out of his messenger bag, and settled his back against the building to wait.

It was nearly two hours later when a young woman showed up. Her eyebrow, nose, and tongue were all pierced and she had tattoos on her neck and arms. She was dressed in a long, loose skirt and a tank top that showed off her willowy frame. Her black hair was clearly dyed and she had applied eyeliner around her bright blue eyes with a heavy hand. “Lose your way, kid?” She asked and her English was the harsh, irritating tones of an American.

“Not at all.” Scorpius drawled back in the smooth, aristocratic way he’d been born to speak. “I’ve just been waiting for the shop to open. I’d like to get a tattoo; a birthday present of sorts, to myself.”

She made a soft ‘hmmm’ and unlocked the door while Scorpius stood, brushing off his black dimijie pants and straightening his silver-embroidered black kameez. When he followed her inside, she asked. “Look, kid, I don’t mind tattooing you, but I gotta check. I’m not gonna have pissed off parents storming my shop, looking for blood, ‘cause I disfigured their kid, am I?”

Scorpius snorted softly. “Hardly. I’m on vacation and my parents are still in England. And I can assure you that I won’t tell them where I got it from when I return.” Then he smiled slightly and added. “And if it bothers them that much, they’ll just make me remove it.”

The woman whistled, low and surprised, as she started prepping the tattoo station. “Trust fund baby, huh?” When she saw the confusion on the kid’s face, she added. “Well, I mean, you’ve gotta have money if you’re talking about lasering off a tattoo like it’s no big thing, right?”

“Yes, my family is quite wealthy.” Scorpius replied with a shrug; he hadn’t understood more than half of what the woman had just said, but figured it didn’t matter much. Then he held out his hand. “I’m Scorpius Malfoy, by the way.”

“Lord, you Brits have fucked up names.” She replied, rolling her eyes and shaking his hand. “Mine’s Amber Phillips. So, kid…” She gestured to the large binders full of images that were laid out on a counter nearby. “Pick your poison and we’ll get started.”

Scorpius reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment. “I’ve got it right here, actually.” He told her, handing over the paper. Across it were a series of Arabic words, written out in Latin lettering. “The trouble is, I’d rather it wasn’t discernable to all and sundry. I don’t suppose you know of any way to code the lettering?”

Amber studied the words; ‘Heyatey. Heby. Beldey feqt.’ She pursed her lips, then snagged one of the binders and started flipping through. Finally she stopped and held it out to Scorpius. “What about the Phoenician alphabet? It’s pretty.”

Scorpius looked at it, then screwed up his face. “No. There’s a good chance half the kids I know from school will be able to read this, I’m sorry to say.”

“One of them fancy private schools?” Amber asked, earning a nod in return. She hmmm’d again and flipped a few more pages while Scorpius still held the binder. “Alrighty, then. How about glyphs?” And she tapped one long, black nail against the page she’d stopped on.

Scorpius stared down at the hieroglyphic alphabet for a long moment, then smirked. The only person he could think of who would be able to read a tattoo of Arabic words spelled out in Latin letters and then encrypted with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs – without a lot of research, anyway – was Bill Weasley. And he would have no reason to decipher Scorpius’s tattoo. This would be perfect.

“Fabulous.” Scorpius purred darkly, causing Amber to look a little startled. She hadn’t expected the pretty, nearly-angelic boy to look so evil all of a sudden. “Shall we get started, then?”

“Sure.” Amber took the book and wandered over to her station. “Where do you want this, anyway?” She asked, getting ready to create the ‘stencil’ that she’d transfer to his skin before starting with the actual inking.

“Around my wrist, but I want the back of my wrist blank.” Scorpius told her, rolling up his left sleeve. She looked askance at his slender, fine-boned wrist and he asked. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“I can give it a shot.” Amber replied, shrugging. “The glyphs will have to be really small and close-together, though, since your wrist is so slender. And you’re gonna feel a lot of pain, since it hurts worse to tattoo over bone.”

Scorpius had a pain potion in his messenger bag, so he grinned. “I don’t mind how small and close together they are; it’ll just make it that much harder for someone else to read. And I’ve got something for the pain.”

Amber watched Scorpius pull a small vial full of red liquid out of his bag, which he quickly uncorked and swallowed down. Then she said. “That better not be illegal. Or do anything to make you bleed faster.”

“It’s not an anticoagulant or a blood thinner.” He assured her as he sat in the chair she gestured to. “It’s just a strong liquid pain killer. Nothing harmful or illegal, I assure you. My father is…sort of like a pharmacist.” He couldn’t, after all, say Potion’s Master to the Muggle.

“Hmmm. Well, as long as you don’t die in my shop, it’s no skin off my teeth what you’re swallowing down.” She went back to working out the design, glancing back and forth between her paper and Scorpius’s wrist.

Two hours later, Scorpius walked out of her shop. His wrist was coated in thick, shiny Emu Oil (he had a small bottle of the stuff in his bag as well, since he had to apply it to his tattoo often while it healed) and wrapped in a folded paper towel, locked in place with Muggle medical tape. It didn’t hurt at all, though he knew that might change when the pain potion he’d taken wore off. Still, he was pleased with the tiny string of glyphs surrounding the side and bottom of his wrist.

‘My life. My love. My only.’ That’s what it meant. And the very top part of his wrist was reserved for the name of whomever he eventually ended up with. And though he didn’t know if it would remain blank forever or if he’d one day have a name there, he had decided he was fully prepared for whatever the Mirror of Erised would show him at the end of the summer. Even if it showed him something he knew he could never have, like Albus at his side.

When he got back to the hotel, the first person he saw was Ginny Potter; Al’s mum. “There you are, Scorpius! No one’s seen you since you left Hugo this morning after yoga and we’ve been searching for you everywhere! We thought we’d have a big dinner out at a restaurant for your birthday, with cake afterwards, and then everyone would give you your presents. And your grandmother is here, though your parents couldn’t get away.”

“Grandmother is here?” Scorpius grinned widely. “Awesome! And yeah, sure, dinner and cake sounds lovely, Mrs. Potter.”

“Please, call me Ginny or Mum.” She ruffled his hair affectionately, making him flush. “Let’s go find Narcissa, shall we? I believe she’s by the pool.” Then she noticed the paper towel around his wrist, peeking out from under his kameez’s sleeve. “Oh, what’s this? Did you get hurt? I’ll heal it for you.”

“It’s nothing.” Scorpius lied, tucking his hand behind his back and giving her a charming smile. “Have I thanked you yet for bringing me along? I’ve just been terribly lax in my manners, haven’t I? Well, thank you ever so much. Grandmother is by the pool, you say?”

Scorpius hadn’t gone two steps past her when she grabbed his arm, just above the elbow, and started tugging at the tape. “Sorry, Scorpius. I grew up with the infamous Weasley Twins and my son is James Sirius…not falling for it. What happened?”

Scorpius cringed as she got the tape off and peeked under the paper towel. Her gasp was so forceful it almost knocked her over. “It’s nothing, really. Just a present to myself.” He insisted, trying once again to tug his arm out of her grip.

“Great Aunt Muriel’s cauldron scalded knickers!” Ginny dropped Scorpius’s arm and covered her mouth with both her hands. “Oh Scorpius, your parents are going to kill Harry and me! Please tell me that it’s not real; please!”

“Ah, well…as to that…” Scorpius quickly rewrapped the paper towel and reattached the thankfully-still-sticky tape. “It’s like I said, isn’t it? It’s not a big deal. Let’s just pretend you didn’t see it, yeah?”

“Oh Merlin…” Ginny rubbed at her temples. “You got a real tattoo? I don’t even…Scorpius, you’re sixteen; what were you thinking?”

Scorpius crossed his arms defensively over his chest and snapped. “I was thinking that at 16 my father got a tattoo far worse than this one, and far more permanent, so it wouldn’t be a big deal!”

“Well now, your father wasn’t very bright at that age, I’m sorry to say.” Narcissa’s voice had Scorpius cringing as he turned around. “And he was forced into taking the Mark, as I’ve explained to you.” She was still incredibly beautiful, despite being 67 years old. She held out one slim hand. “Let me see what you’ve done to yourself then, Scorpius.”

Flushing darkly, Scorpius unwrapped his tattoo again and held out his hand. His grandmother carefully grasped his forearm and turned his arm back and forth, studying the glyphs. “It’s not wholly unattractive, at least. But then, you always did have exceptional taste.” She gave him a small smile and asked. “What does it say ?”

Scorpius bit his lip, glancing at Ginny, then muttered. “My life. My love. My only.”

“Ah. And the empty space on the top of your wrist will, of course, be for said person, when you find them?” When he nodded, she smiled gently and let go of his hand, cupping his cheek tenderly. “You always were a hopeless romantic. Don’t worry; I won’t tell your parents. Perhaps a watch to cover it once it’s healed would be a good idea.”

“Well, if it will keep me from getting murdered by Astoria while Draco eviscerates Harry, I’ll buy him the watch before dinner tonight and give it to him as a birthday present.” Ginny said firmly. Then she gave Scorpius a stern look and added. “I’d suggest you keep it well-hidden until then. Go borrow a watch from Albus or James or something.” She quickly shot a healing spell at his wrist and the tattoo was suddenly weeks old rather than hours.

Scorpius smiled at her gratefully. “Thanks.” He turned to Narcissa and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad you came, Grandmother. Just let me go borrow a watch and I’ll join you in the gardens, okay?”

“Of course.” Narcissa kissed his cheek in turn and turned to smile at Ginny. “Let’s go join your delightful daughter by the pool, shall we? Such a lovely girl. A true testament to Slytherin females.”

Laughing, Ginny followed Narcissa towards the hotel’s pool while Scorpius dashed up to his room. Albus was nowhere to be seen, so he rushed to James and Freddie’s room and banged on the door. When Freddie opened it, he grinned and said. “Hey, is James here?”

“Yeah, come on in, ‘Pi.” The mocha-skinned boy stepped back, his dark eyes laughing as usual. “We were just chilling.”

“Thanks.” Scorpius stepped in and, sure enough, James was lounging on his bed. “Hey, look…I just wanted to borrow a watch and your mum said to ask you.”

James shrugged and help up his cell phone, which he’d been fiddling with. “I have my phone, so I don’t usually wear a watch unless I’m at school, sorry. Freddie, you got one?”

Fred nodded, then started digging through a duffel bag. “Yeah, somewhere, I think.” He grinned charmingly at Scorpius as he kept looking. “I’ll find it; just give me a minute.”

Sure enough, a short while later Freddie had scrounged up a red and black watch. Scorpius quickly secured it on his left wrist, shooting Fred a grateful look. “Thanks, Freddie. I appreciate this.” Then he added. “I’ve got to dash, because Grandmother is here for my birthday, but I’ll see you all later for my birthday dinner. Ta!”

James and Freddie said goodbye and Scorpius rushed out of the room, making a beeline for the pool. He was so glad his grandmother had seemed to understand about his tattoo. And he was glad Ginny seemed willing to keep his secret as well. All-in-all, his birthday seemed to be going very well. He couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scorpius still wasn’t sure how he felt about Egyptian food. In truth, it was some of the most delicious he’d ever eaten. It was just very, very different. A mix, really, of the many cultures that had mixed with Egypt during its long and varied history. He had, however, enjoyed his birthday dinner quite a lot, despite the unusual mix of things he’d eaten. The Weasley-Potter children, and their parents of course, were used to eating exotic cuisine due to their yearly trips and had no trouble adjusting to their newest menu. Oliver, Araminta, and Seraphim were more cautious (like Scorpius), but handled it admirably. Narcissa, however, had seemed to delight in eating the new dishes. It had been amusing to watch.

The upside to there being so many in their party was that they’d been able to order a bunch of different things and each try a little of many of them. The first two things Scorpius had were dips served with Egyptian flatbread. One was Dukkah, which was a dry mix of herbs, nuts and spices such as mint, salt, sesame, coriander, and cumin. The other dip was called ‘mesh’ and was made from tomatoes and Gibna Domiata. Gibna Domiata was a cheese made from buffalo milk and typically aged between one and three years, in a tin can. The dish was quite lovely, in truth.

He’d also had a small amount of Ful Medames, which was a soup-like dish. It was made of lava beans served with oil, garlic, and lemon juice. It was salted and served in an Egyptian bun. The Mulukhiya was a true soup that had been served with rice. It was made from the leaves of the jute and corchorus plants, chopped with garlic and coriander and cooked in animal stock. Though it was typically made with chicken, beef, or rabbit stock, Alexandria was a coastal city and theirs had been made with shrimp.

But by far Scorpius’s favorite dish was Kushari. It was said to be Egypt’s national dish and Scorpius could see why; it was amazing. A strictly-vegetarian dish, its base was simply pasta and tomato sauce. Added to it were rice, lentils, caramelized onions, garlic, and chickpeas. Scorpius devoured quite a bit of it, as did Narcissa and the other ‘guests’ on the trip. Halawa (several different types with different things added to it for flavor) was being eaten by most of the Weasley-Potter clan; Scorpius refused to touch the sesame-paste stuff that they were devouring. But, all-in-all, the food had been very good.

His cake had been brought from England by Narcissa; it was Black Forrest cake. Chocolate cake, with cherry filling between the two layers, iced with dark-chocolate icing and garnished with cherries. It was Scorpius’s absolute favorite. He’d been surprised to hear Hermione comment that it was Hugo’s favorite as well; Scorpius hadn’t known that. It wasn’t a dessert served at Hogwarts. He’d blown out candles, making the simplest wish he could think of. ‘I wish to find my prince.’

His gifts had been varied. Ginny had, of course, gotten him a watch. A very simple one, with a silver frame to the face and a green leather band; he’d thanked her and switched it for Freddie’s borrowed watch immediately. Freddie and James had gotten him some things from Freddie’s dad’s shop. George himself had brought some of the Weasley’s Whizbang Fireworks and they’d had a small show in the desert just outside the hotel. Harry had bought him a book about recent discoveries in Magical Medicine; Scorpius had been hard-pressed not to start reading then and there. Rose had also bought him a book on Healing, as had Hermione – Rose’s book was about bones and breaks and the various spells and potions for fixing them; Hermione’s was about emergency care.

Albus had gotten him a black tee-shirt that read “Healer-In-Training” on the front and on the back said “Free Physicals”. Ginny had scolded her son, but her lips had been twitching the whole time. Scorpius hadn’t been able to stop laughing. Araminta had gotten him a leather coat; he’d been admiring the one James wore for two years and, as she put it, ‘I’m sick of you whinging, so here.’ Seraphim had gotten him a present as well…but then, they always got each other gifts, despite their constant sneering and insults. It was a beautiful set of crystal scales. It was used to measure some of the rarer ingredients for advanced potions; Scorpius actually hugged her in thanks.

Narcissa kissed his cheek and told him his present from his parents had been too large to transport and she’d give him hers when he got home as well. He’d told her having her there was present enough, but added cheekily that he’d happily accept whatever she’d bought for him. Teddy and Victoire gave him a gift certificate for Honeydukes; Scorpius had inherited his father’s raging sweet tooth. The Scamander twins gave him a book on healing plants found in the Amazon and offered themselves as tour guides if he ever wanted to go.

And finally, after a lot of laughter and music and conversation, the night was over and Narcissa had left and everyone was staggering – full and exhausted and, in the case of the adults and older kids, a little bit tipsy – to their rooms. Scorpius was among the vaguely-tipsy ones and was giggling along with Albus as they – accompanied by James, Freddie, Mint, Lorcan, Lysander, and ‘Phim – carried his gifts up to his and Al’s hotel room. Scorpius slipped into the bathroom and changed into black silk pajama pants and his new tee-shirt from Albus, still giggling, then rejoined his friends.

They were all sprawled across the two beds and the floor, laughing and talking, when there was a hesitant knock on the door. “I got it.” Scorpius told the others, waving them back to their spots as he sauntered to the door and opened it to reveal Hugo. “Oh. Hi.”

“Hello.” Hugo’s voice was uncertain as he noticed everyone staring at him. “Um, could I talk to you in private for a moment, ‘Pi?”

“Sure, why not?” Scorpius shot a grin at the others in the room. “Be back in three shakes of a lamb’s tail, everyone!” Then he stepped into the hallway with Hugo and shut the door. He leaned against the hallway wall, since everything seemed a bit soft and blurry, and smiled charmingly. “So, what did you need, little puppy? Have you got a present for me?”

“Oh, um…well…” Hugo shook his head, reaching up to fiddle with his necklace; the self-same one Scorpius had given him. He was blushing. “No. I was going to, but then things happened and I just…didn’t. I’m sorry. But I wanted to wish you a happy birthday anyway and say that…well, that there’s no hard feelings or anything. And that I’d really like to try to go back to being friends now. If…if that’s something you’d like, I mean.”

Scorpius nodded, still grinning charmingly. “Of course we can be friends.” He stepped forward, ignoring the way Hugo backed himself into a wall to try to maintain distance between them, and ghosted his fingers over the copper Hugo wore. “You’re still wearing your collar, little puppy. I like that.”

Hugo was staring up at Scorpius with wide, confused eyes; this was the sort of behavior that had confused him in the first place. The strange, heated look in Scorpius’s eyes and the dangerous edge to his smile and the odd, tender way he touched Hugo…it had all combined to leave Hugo feeling twisted and strange. The Slytherin had been careful not to touch him since everything had happened in India, but he knew Scorpius had been drinking. And he really didn’t want to let those lines blur again. So he carefully grabbed Scorpius’s wrist and moved the boy’s hand away from his throat.

“I’m going to go now.” He said, softly but firmly as he released the blonde’s arm. “Happy birthday again, ‘Pi. Goodnight.”

“Wait.” Scorpius placed his hands on the wall on either side of Hugo and leaned down slightly, tipping his head to the side as he studied the other boy.

Hugo’s eyes were a clear, deep blue and his thick, curly hair looked eminently touchable in the soft light of the hallway. His eyes were huge and his pink lips were slightly parted and Scorpius watched with interest as Hugo’s tongue flickered out to wet them. He had missed being near Hugo during the time the boy had been away from him. Scorpius had missed the eager smiles and easy-to-please nature of the slender Hufflepuff since they’d been speaking again. Would it be such a hardship to be with Hugo, in order to get those back? Scorpius’s alcohol-soaked brain said no, it would be no hardship at all. And it would make Hugo happy, wouldn’t it, which his brain added was a very good thing.

“Did you know that you’re very pretty?” Scorpius asked conversationally. “I mean, really. You’re almost too pretty to be a boy. It’s very…disconcerting…at times.” He smiled, a wicked curl to his lips, and added almost absently. “I never noticed how pretty you were until that day in the shower. You were all wet and flushed and lovely and I had no idea why I was noticing.”

Hugo felt tears burn the backs of his eyes; this wasn’t fair. He reached up without thought and pushed against Scorpius’s chest. “Stop it, Scorpius. Let me go.” He said it softly, but firmly, refusing to let the tears fall. “This isn’t funny.”

“Who’s laughing, puppy?” Scorpius’s voice had dropped to a low purr and he leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over Hugo’s, thinking fuzzily it was the easiest way to get across his intention to make Hugo happy.

When the boy gasped and stared at him, Scorpius gave into the urge to do it again. He had just started to lean in when Hugo slapped him across the face. Scorpius staggered back, his hand pressed to his cheek, and stared. Hugo had tears running down his face. “Fuck you, Malfoy!” Hugo spat, before turning and fleeing down the hallway.

Scorpius rubbed his stinging cheek and wondered what had just happened. He stumbled back into the bedroom, his right cheek hot and throbbing now, and apparently bearing a large red handprint because Mint rushed to his side and started fussing. “Oh my gosh, ‘Pi, what happened?” She made a little moue of sympathy.

Scorpius blinked a bit dazedly at her and said. “Hugo slapped me.” She touched his cheek and he hissed, jerking away from her touch. “Hard, apparently. Mint, that hurts!”

“Sorry.” She said softly, wincing. “It looks like it’s going to bruise. He must have hit you pretty hard to do that kind of damage.”

“Why did he hit you, Malfoy?” Seraphim Smith’s voice was ice-cold and hard; not something you normally expected from a Hufflepuff. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

“Nothing!” Scorpius protested, irritated at being blamed for doing what he thought Hugo wanted. “I mean, nothing bad, anyway.”

Lorcan and Lysander exchanged looks, then one of them spoke. “Alcohol-fogged brains aren’t always the best at decided what’s bad.”

The other twin nodded. “Very, very true. How about you tell us what you did…”

“And let us decide if it was bad or not.” The first twin finished seriously.

Scorpius sank onto one of the chairs in the room, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. “I just kissed him, is all.” When everyone in the room made horrified sounds, he sunk down into the chair. “Why is that bad?”

“Well, now…” Araminta, always Scorpius’s staunchest defender, held up her hand. “It might not be, depending on why you kissed him. So, let’s hear the reason before we kill him.”

“Alright then.” Seraphim glared heatedly at Scorpius. “Why did you do it, Malfoy? And may Salazar save you if you give the wrong answer.”

Scorpius opened and shut his mouth several times, trying to recall his logic from the moments before he kissed the little redhead. Finally, sounding lost, he said. “I don’t know. I…it seemed like a good idea at the time? And I thought…I thought he wanted me to kiss him…I…” He trailed off, clearly very confused.

“Oh, man, ‘Pi.” Albus spoke for the first time since Scorpius had reentered the room. “You know how much it sucks to have to kill your best friend? I can’t even…James, help me out here.”

“Hugo doesn’t want you to kiss him.” James said with all the wisdom of a 17 year old boy who had been dating a Slytherin girl for a year and a half. “Hugo wants you to want to kiss him. There’s a difference, I think.”

“Yeah, the difference is, Malfoy is fucking with Hugo’s feelings!” ‘Phim spat, practically vibrating with fury as she glared at Scorpius. “I’d kill you, but you’re not worth the time I’d spend in Azkaban, you insensitive, self-centered, egotistical prick!” She turned and snatched up the box holding the crystal scales she’d bought him. “And you can just kiss my arse if you think you’re keeping these now, you stupid, fucking wanker!” Then she gave Freddie a quick kiss on his cheek and stood, saying coldly. “I’m going to go comfort Hugo, again. May you be eaten by a Lethifold in your sleep!”

She flounced out of the room in a huff and Freddie grinned as he watched her leave. “I do love that girl, you know.” Then he turned to Scorpius and his face grew serious. “She’s right about you messing with Hugo’s head though. You said you weren’t interested, so why would you kiss him?”

“I told you, I don’t know!” Scorpius cried, burying his face in his hands. “He’s just so sweet and I hate seeing him sad and I thought, well, would it be that awful, really, if it made him happy?”

“Ah, drunken man logic.” Araminta sighed and petted Scorpius’s hair gently. “You’ll need to apologize tomorrow, Scorpius. Doing it while still hung over is probably best, since it’ll show you’re willing to suffer for what you did.” She tipped his face up and cupped his chin gently, studying his cheek. “As will leaving this to heal naturally. And some groveling probably won’t go amiss, either.”

Scorpius looked at her miserably. “I didn’t mean to hurt him again, ‘Minty. I swear I didn’t. I never wanted to hurt him at all.”

“I know, ‘Pi-‘Pi.” She told him, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Get some sleep and in the morning you can tell him how sorry you are. Try getting down on your knees while you beg for forgiveness; that’s been known to help in cases like this.”

Scorpius nodded miserably and Araminta shooed everyone except Albus out of the room. When they were alone and Scorpius had flipped off the lights and climbed into his bed, Albus asked softly. “Hey, ‘Pi…when I was telling Hugo what your type was, back in India…he said it sounded like I was describing myself.”

Scorpius cringed and covered his face with his hands; hadn’t he suffered enough tonight? But Albus wasn’t kicking his ass for making Hugo cry again, so he figured he owed his best friend the truth. Since his face was still covered by his hands, his voice was slightly muffled as he spoke. “Yeah, it probably does. I used to have a pretty big crush on you. I’m over it, though. Promise.”

There was a long pause, then Albus said softly. “If you’re over it, why are you still dating people who are so much like me? I mean…don’t you think that’s kind of weird?”

“I…” Scorpius felt his throat tighten and swallowed hard, then whispered. “I don’t really know, Allie. I’ve just always had this really concrete idea about the sort of guy I wanted, that’s all.”

There was another long pause, then Albus whispered. “Ever think maybe you’re wrong about what you want?” When Scorpius didn’t say anything, Albus sighed and said. “Never mind. I’m too drunk to make sense, I think. G’night, ‘Pi.”

Swallowing hard again, Scorpius whispered. “G’night, Allie.” Then he stared at the ceiling and tried to go to sleep. It took a very long time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scorpius woke up feeling utterly miserable. His cheek had, in fact, bruised; there was a bluish-purple smudge all along his high cheekbone. He also had a hangover, though only a mild one. Still, when he wandered into the gardens a little after dawn to find Hugo waiting in the spot where they did yoga, he looked a bit ragged around the edges. His skin was a bit ashen and his eyes were bloodshot. He stopped short when he saw Hugo sitting on the ground, guilt gnawing at his gut. The other boy looked calm, but the pain was lurking in his eyes.

“Hugo, I…”

“Don’t.” Hugo cut him off softly. “I’m sure you’re sorry. You were drunk and not thinking clearly. I understand that, really. But you don’t get to keep doing this to me.”

“I never meant to hurt you.” Scorpius whispered, feeling like the lowest sort of scum imaginable. “I swear that, Hugo. I just thought…”

Hugo held up a hand to silence Scorpius and said icily. “Araminta told me exactly what you thought. And while I understand that it was drunken logic at its worst, that doesn’t make it any better. It doesn’t make it okay. And I mean it. You don’t get to keep doing this to me.”

The Slytherin swallowed hard, but nodded. “I know. You’re right. This isn’t fair to you, is it? Me wanting to be friends with you, I mean.”

“No, it isn’t.” Hugo agreed, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. “I want to be your friend, though. I do.” Those blue eyes were intense as he watched Scorpius over his knees. “I just need to lay down some rules, if this is going to work.”

“Rules.” Scorpius swallowed hard again, then nodded slowly. “I guess that’s reasonable. More reasonable then I think I would be in your position. What rules?”

That intense gaze didn’t waver. “You don’t get to touch me without express permission. You don’t get to buy me things without a clear-cut reason, such as a birthday or Christmas.” Hugo listed off things in a flat, emotionless voice. “You don’t get to fuss over me, unless I’m actually in the hospital for something. You don’t get to kiss me, though I suppose that’s technically covered under the no touching rule.”

There was a pause and the blonde queried softly. “Is that all of them?”

Hugo shook his head and said firmly. “You don’t get to call me puppy anymore. I don’t…I don’t know how I feel about that comparison, to be honest, but it feels too intimate. So you’ll stop. Now.”

Scorpius winced, then nodded. “If that’s what you want, Hugo, then of course.”

“It’s not what I want.” Hugo’s voice was slightly off now; hoarse and choked sounding. He pushed to his feet and Scorpius noted with a pang that Hugo had taken off the necklace Scorpius had bought for him in India; that was a first. “It’s what I need, Scorpius. I need for you to follow these rules. I can’t…I can’t have you shattering me over and over again. I just can’t.”

“Of course.” Scorpius repeated, thinking he understood for the first time how his father must have felt after the Second Wizarding War, when he knew he’d made all the wrong choices and that he was, just then, basically worthless. That was pretty much how Scorpius felt. “I’ll follow your rules, Hugo. Of course I will. I promise.”

Hugo nodded, then said quietly. “I’m skipping yoga today, because I didn’t get much sleep and I’m going to go lie back down. But I didn’t want you thinking I was hiding from you, like some sort of coward.” The ‘again’ was silent, but hung in the air between them never-the-less.

“I never thought you were a coward.” Scorpius told him firmly, his set expression showing how sincere he was. “Not once. I might have been angry you wouldn’t talk to me and upset that I’d hurt you badly enough to make you avoid me, but I never thought you were a coward.”

The Hufflepuff seemed to consider this for a few moments, then he nodded very slowly. “I’m glad. And now I’m going to go rest.”

Scorpius said nothing; he simply nodded and watched the other boy go, wondering why he felt suddenly hollowed-out and empty. He just didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, well...there's Scorpius being an idiot again. -_- Poor guy; he's going to have a LOT to make up for when he finally stops being stupid.
> 
> I actually enjoyed writing poor, baffled, drunken 'Pi; he was just so cute! And I adore writing Seraphim, since she's so...me on a bad day, lol.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying this so far and please leave me comments; they make me SO happy!!! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	12. Chapter Eleven

On Thursday, August 18th, Bill Weasley finally got them access to the interior of the Sphinx. Scorpius was excited and, for the first time since his birthday, he wasn’t abjectly miserable. Though Hugo had been true to his word and spent time with Scorpius – both during yoga and during various activities, such as camel rides and pyramid exploring – ‘The Rules,’ as Scorpius thought of them, cast a heavy shadow over their relationship.

Scorpius would see something Hugo might like – a trinket or some small thing – and have to curb his natural impulse to buy it. Scorpius was used to buying random things for his friends; it smarted to not be able to. Or he would have the urge to brush a stray curl back from Hugo’s face and have to clamp down hard on the desire. To someone like the Malfoy heir, who had been encouraged to be a very physically demonstrative person, it was unthinkable to be forbidden to touch someone. It was slowly driving him mad; of that, Scorpius was certain.

As he wandered alone through the Sphinx – having branched off from the others almost immediately upon entering the structure – he thought his insanity had finally reached its peak. He rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a real, live Sphinx, though for a brief moment he thought she must be a hallucination of some sort. Her long, almond-shaped, black eyes studied him with interest and her black hair was sleek and straight around a face so beautiful it would make angels weep with envy. Cleopatra herself could not have been half as lovely; the Slytherin was sure of that. Her tail flicked lazily as she tipped her head to the side and studied him, not rising from where she was lying in the middle of the large, otherwise-empty chamber he’d just entered.

“Oh. Um, hello.” Scorpius stammered, not sure what one was supposed to say to a Sphinx. He knew they could be deadly if they were in the mood, of course, but he was hoping she wasn’t too dangerous. “I didn’t realize you were here…”

She smiled and it was a mysterious smile; it seemed to hold the promise of the secrets of the universe. “I don’t think anyone knows I’m here, little golden human.” Her voice was a low, husky rumble that was oddly seductive. “What do you seek here?”

Scorpius bit his lip, then decided he would do his best to get on this being’s good side before he tried actually talking to her. So he asked the one thing he knew would make her happy; the thing guaranteed to make any Sphinx happy. “Tell me a riddle?”

Her smile deepened and she purred softly. “I like you already, human. Alright then. You are young, so I will start with something simple. When is a door not a door?”

Scorpius frowned, tipping his head to the side slightly. But he was good at riddles and the answer came to him in a flash. “When it’s ajar.” He told her, flashing a charming grin at her before saying, almost challengingly. “Tell me another.”

“Come and sit by me and I will.” She purred and Scorpius obeyed her without question. He quickly moved until he was only a few feet away and sank down so he could sit cross-legged on the floor. Once he was settled, she asked him softly. “Until I am measured, I am not known. But how you miss me once I’ve flown! What am I?”

Scorpius smiled again; he really did enjoy riddles. “Time.” He answered without hesitation. Then he added carefully. “My name is Scorpius. What’s yours?”

“I am called Ament Ka Ma.” She told him, her tail still flicking lazily back and forth. “What brings you to my home, Scorpius?”

“I’m on vacation.” Scorpius replied, idly sifting his fingers through a small pile of sand; one of many that littered the floor inside the Sphinx. He knew it had seeped in through cracks, very slowly, over many thousands of years…which was an intriguing thought. “I sort of wandered away from my friends.”

“Are you lost then?” Ament asked, sounding unconcerned by this possibility. “I find that an interesting plight. Immortal things are never lost, you see, for we have all the time in existence to get to where ever we might be going.”

Scorpius chuckled softly; he’d never thought of that. He told her quietly, with a small smile. “No, I’m not lost. Just…away from them for a bit, is all. I needed some time to myself, I suppose.” He studied her face, admiring her great beauty. He thought of something and asked softly. “Have you ever been in love? Do immortal beings fall in love, I mean? I don’t want to offend you, but I admit to being curious…”

“Of course immortal things fall in love.” Ament chided, though she sounded amused rather than annoyed so Scorpius didn’t worry. “And yes, I have loved. Once, I loved so strongly I thought I would surely perish from it. I lost him and thought my heart would stop beating from the pain. I cried an ocean’s worth of tears and hid myself among the sand and stars for a long time; for lifetimes; for an eternity.”

Now she seemed saddened and Scorpius felt bad, but he was still curious. “How…how did you lose him? If you loved him that much, I mean. Did he die?”

Ament shook her head, flexing her claws so they kneaded the sand she was lying on. “No. He lives still, in fact, or at least I have not heard of his passing. But I was alone in my love. There is no pain worse than loving when it is not returned.”

Scorpius thought of Hugo’s beautiful face, his blue eyes dark with grief, and knew he agreed with the Sphinx. He gave her a weak smile. “I think you’re right. Do…do you get lonely, Ament?”

Her eyes widened for a moment, then she considered the question very carefully. When she answered at last, it was in a slow, measured way. “Yes, I do. I think immortal things become lonely far easier than mortal things do, in fact. We have so much more time, you see. So much longer to be alone. And if we meet a mortal thing, it goes away so quickly. We immortals get a mere blink of time with mortal things…a grain of sand in the desert of our lifetimes. It is very lonely to be immortal.”

“I don’t think I’d want to live forever.” Scorpius admitted, guilt flickering briefly over his face. “I think an eternity is too long to regret something for, don’t you?”

“Yes, I agree.” She told him softly. “Do you love someone, then? Is that what you regret?” She asked, tipping her head curiously. “I have never spoken at length to a human before. You interest me.”

“Ah. Well. No.” Scorpius explained sheepishly. “I’m the one who doesn’t love. He loves me. Or he was starting to, anyway. I think. But I don’t…I don’t love him. And now I’ve hurt him, which I never meant to do.” Seeing a strange look cross Ament’s face, Scorpius added softly. “Tell me a riddle.”

Ament seemed to hesitate for a moment, as though she was uncertain if she wanted to allow the subject to change, but she asked anyway. No Sphinx could resist the invitation to ask a riddle. “How is a raven like a writing desk?”

Scorpius smiled faintly; that had been his favorite riddle for many years. Ever since the first time he’d heard it, in fact. There were several possible answers, most of which didn’t make any sense if examined too closely, because the fact of the matter was that the riddle had been created without a true answer. But Scorpius had an answer he liked; one that did hold up to scrutiny because it was a riddle in and of itself, which he thought that Ament would appreciate as well. He had to wonder about the fact that Ament was asking him a technically unanswerable riddle, though. It seemed like she was suddenly itching for an excuse to get violent with him. Perhaps it was time to leave.

Scorpius stood and brushed off his pants, then turned and walked towards the doorway. When he reached it, he paused and glanced back at her. “I’m leaving because it’s clear from the riddle you asked that you wish to be left in peace…and I respect that. But I’ll answer anyway. Because there is a ‘B’ in both and an ‘N’ in neither.”

As he vanished back into the corridor, her delighted laughter followed him and he smiled to himself. Not everyone could claim to have made a Sphinx laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scorpius hadn’t told anyone about his encounter with the Sphinx. Partly because he didn’t want to be scolded for putting himself in danger by asking for riddles, but mostly because he didn’t want anyone disturbing Ament Ka Ma. She seemed entitled to her peace and quiet. There had been a sadness about her, as well as an air of mystery. He couldn’t imagine living for eternity and the prospect of spending said eternity alone seemed quite bleak.

Scorpius wondered for a moment what Ament would have seen if she’d been faced with the Mirror of Erised. Assuming, of course, that the Mirror would work for an immortal being like her. He thought for a moment that she’d see the one she’d mentioned; the one she loved. But the Sphinx was wise and Scorpius decided quickly that she would see herself with someone else; someone who loved her back. Someone who had never hurt her. And he wondered next if the one who’d broken Ament’s heart ever felt guilt for having hurt her. He supposed he’d never know.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day after they’d explored the Sphinx, they’d explored one of the many pyramids. Bill was leading the expedition again. It was a much larger group this time, since not everyone had wanted to explore the Sphinx, since the Sphinx was basically a giant labyrinth inside. A few of the cousins hadn’t wanted to risk getting lost and, as they weren’t particularly motivated by scholarly curiosity, had opted not to go. And the adults had mostly decided not to go either, since exploring the Sphinx was mainly a lot of walking through empty rooms and looking at hieroglyphs on the walls.

The pyramid they were in, on the other hand, still had a lot of stuff in it. Sarcophaguses, mummies, statues, pottery…there was loads to look at. Of course, the only reason there was anything left to look at was that some of the rooms in the pyramid had been inaccessible without magic so the Muggle tomb raiders from the last century or two had been unable to steal the things in them.

Rose and Hermione were chattering along with Bill about various things up at the head of group. Scorpius himself was way at the back. Albus was schmoozing some Egyptian girl whose name Scorpius hadn’t caught; he wished his best friend luck. At least one of them ought to enjoy this vacation, anyway, and it certainly didn’t look like it was going to be him. Hugo fell into step beside Scorpius and gave him a careful smile.

“You seem kind of…off.” Hugo said softly, looking concerned under the obviously-forced smile. “Are you feeling alright?”

Scorpius clenched his hands into fists to quell the urge to run his fingers through that thick, curly, auburn hair and smiled around gritted teeth. “I’m fine, Hugo. Thanks for asking. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, um, I guess.” Hugo shrugged and sighed softly. “To be honest, I’m looking forward to going home on Wednesday. I never thought I’d miss the rain…”

Scorpius let out a genuine laugh at that. “Yes, anything for a dreary, overcast day, right? Preferably one full of fog and drizzling rain and a bracing English breeze.”

“Absolutely.” Hugo agreed vehemently, smiling back at him; a full smile that flashed the dimple in his left cheek. Scorpius bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood to stop himself from leaning in and kissing that dimple. “You think I’d be used to being away from home, considering I’m away from England every summer, but it doesn’t get any easier. I always miss it fiercely.”

Scorpius considered that for a moment, then spoke quietly. “I’d imagine it’s that Hufflepuff loyalty of yours. England is home for you; she holds your heart and you’ll always return to her.”

Hugo blinked those gorgeous blue eyes at Scorpius, then said thoughtfully. “I guess I never thought about it like that before.” Then he smiled and added. “I’m going to go walk with Seraphim for a little while. I’ll see you later.”

And Scorpius watched him go, wanting nothing more than to drag the boy back to his side. But he didn’t dare break The Rules for fear of breaking Hugo’s heart. He would never hurt the boy again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Their final day in Egypt came far faster than Scorpius anticipated. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to go home and get away from Hugo. With each passing day, the desire to break The Rules grew stronger; harder to resist. But he kept thinking of what Araminta had said while he was drunk. The reason why mattered and Scorpius had no idea why he was so drawn to the younger boy. But he did know that he never wanted to put that hurt, devastated look back on Hugo’s face. And if that meant keeping his distance, then he would. Which would be a lot easier to do in England, where he wouldn’t see Hugo for the remainder of the summer. And surely by the time they returned to Hogwarts these strange urges would have passed.

On the other hand, Scorpius had discovered that travel suited him. Although England would always be ‘home’ for him, he found he longed to see other places. Perhaps not for long, extended visits like this; a month in each location was a bit much. But a week here or a week there sounded like a lovely idea. He wanted to see the whole world. Perhaps he’d even take Lorcan and Lysander up on their offer of a guided tour through the Amazon.

They were returning to England on Wednesday the 24th, which would give them a full week in England before they had to return to Hogwarts. A week to reacclimatize to the dreary, drizzly, chilly English weather. A week to readjust to bland, tasteless English food. A week to get their school things. A week, during which Scorpius would spend time with his parents and his grandmother. As he closed his eyes and soaked in the heat of the sun on his face, he wondered how much he’d miss being warm once he was home.

“Shouldn’t you be packing?” Hermione’s soft voice caused Scorpius to blink open his eyes. He turned to look at her as she approached him; he was seated on one of the poolside chairs. “We’re leaving in just a couple of hours, you know.”

“I packed last night.” Scorpius told her with a smile. “I only left out my things for today. And I tucked my pajamas and the few things I’d needed to get ready this morning into my suitcase as soon as I was dressed.”

Hermione nodded, sitting in the chair next to his and looking thoughtful. “Scorpius, may I ask you something personal?”

Scorpius cringed, biting his lip and wanting to refuse, but Hermione Granger-Weasley was a nice woman and he didn’t want to be rude. With a little sigh, he settled for middle ground. “”You can ask, of course, but I might choose not to answer.”

“Fair enough.” Hermione agreed. She glanced over at the pool, looking almost broody. After a very long pause, she spoke. “Did your father ever talk to you about how Ron and I got together?”

Scorpius blinked, startled. That…was not what he’d been expected. “Um…perhaps? I mean, not in detail or anything. But it was mentioned that you two took forever to start dating, even though everyone else could see you were in love. It was like you two were the last to know.”

Hermione let out a weary chuckle. “Not precisely. I’ve always known how I felt about Ron. I’ve loved him since I was a First Year. My husband, though…it took him a little longer to sort out.” She was studying the Slytherin’s face as she explained. “He knew he cared about me. He knew he liked being around me and it bothered him when I was upset or angry, especially if it was with him. He knew he wanted to protect me and keep me safe. And, on a certain level, he even knew he found me attractive. He just didn’t realize that all of those things added up to him being in love with me.”

“No offense, but he sounds like he was kind of stupid.” Scorpius told her with a small smile. “I mean, how can you not know you’re in love with someone? Shouldn’t it be obvious?”

“Ron’s always been a bit slow when it comes to emotions.” Hermione admitted; it was something she’d come to terms with a long time ago. “It was hard, waiting for him to realize, but I was sure of his feelings for me so I managed. Because some part of me knew that, eventually, he’d figure it out and everything would be okay. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been if I’d thought he didn’t love me.”

Hermione was still studying his face and it was starting to make him uncomfortable; she looked so much like Rose did when the Ravenclaw was trying to solve a puzzle and it was a bit unnerving. He also had a feeling she hadn’t asked him the question she wanted to ask. “So…what was your question?”

Her smile was gentle and a little sad; it reminded him of Hugo’s smile and twisted something inside of him. “You already answered it.” She stood and lightly touched his cheek. “Tell your father I said hello when you get home, alright? And tell him I’ll be owling him soon.”

Scorpius was more than a little confused, but he nodded anyway. “Um, alright. I will.” She smiled again and walked away, leaving Scorpius to ponder the strangeness of females until it was time to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPHINX!!! <3 I adore Ament Ka Ma. She's one of my favorite characters, in fact! She'll actually be making an appearance in a Drarry fic of mine at some point; that's the fic she was created for. But she fit so well here that I decided to give her a little scene.
> 
> Also, I love riddles, so if you know any good ones, let me know!
> 
> Comments make my day. <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been planned from the beginning; I have been working towards this scene the WHOLE fic! YAY!!! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.

Harry gestured towards the mirror he’d just uncovered, giving Scorpius a small smile. “I think I’ll leave you to this, Scorpius. My first time before the Mirror I was alone. And I was grateful for it. It’s a very personal thing, one’s deepest desire.”

“Thanks.” Scorpius replied softly. Once Harry was out of the room, Scorpius turned to face the Mirror, still standing slightly to the right of the frame. “Alright, Mirror…show me what I desire.”

He stepped in front of the frame and was frustrated for a brief moment, believing it was showing him the same thing as before. Then he realized that the Mirror-Scorpius was dressed in white Healer robes and that the mist surrounding him was rapidly disappearing. Mirror-Scorpius smiled and held up his right arm, palm facing Scorpius, baring the hieroglyphs on his wrist. Heart pounding, Scorpius held up his own left hand (since they were, after all, mirror-images) and showed his own tattoo. The Mirror-blonde turned his wrist, showing the blank portion for a brief moment, before turning it back.

Now, the glyphs were gone and in their place were the English words; ‘My Life. My Love. My Only.’ He felt his heart rate jump again; this was what he’d been waiting for. This was why he’d wanted to look in the first place. To see his Prince; the man he’d always been waiting for. He wanted to know this more than he’d ever wanted anything. He held his breath as Mirror-Scorpius turned his wrist back again, revealing the two words now inked across the top of his wrist.

His breath caught in his throat. ‘No. No. Nonononononono…’ His brain couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. Those two words…it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. He thought he’d been prepared for anything, but this…this he wasn’t sure how to handle. As he sucked in much needed air, his whole body shaking, the Mirror-Scorpius gave him a sympathetic smile.

Those two words reverberated in his brain. ‘My Puppy.’

Scorpius clutched the frame of the mirror with both hands as Mirror-Scorpius looked off to the side of the frame. His whole face lit up, love shining in his eyes and a dazzling smile curving his lips. He opened his arms and a Mirror-Hugo rushed into the frame and into Mirror-Scorpius’s arms. Mirror-Scorpius pulled the little redhead close and his smile turned wicked as he leaned down to capture those full, pink lips with his own. Scorpius watched, unable to look away, as his mirror-self pulled back only to lean down and nuzzle Mirror-Hugo’s neck.

Mirror-Hugo locked eyes with the real Scorpius and said softly. “I love you, ‘Pi.”

And Mirror-Scorpius replied with the words echoing through the real Scorpius’s heart and mind. “I love you, too, Puppy.”

Just then, the door to the attic creaked open. Scorpius turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs and watched as the real-life Hugo came into view. “Sorry to bother you.” Hugo said softly as he walked over to the Slytherin. “Uncle Harry said to tell you that you’re welcome to stay for dinner, if you like. Otherwise you can use the Floo whenever you’re ready.”

Scorpius looked down at the auburn-haired, blue-eyed Hufflepuff and wondered how he could have been so blind. He reached out and grabbed Hugo, not caring about ‘The Rules’ anymore, and pulled him in front of the Mirror. He leaned over Hugo’s shoulder, practically wrapping himself around the boy, and grinned as the Mirror-Scorpius did the same with the Mirror-Hugo. This…this small, shy boy…was what he wanted, more than anything else.

“Would you like to know what I see?” Scorpius purred into Hugo’s ear, delighting in the way his warm breath on Hugo’s ear made the younger teen shiver. “I’ll make you a deal, Puppy.” He couldn’t help the smirk on his lips; he was just breaking all of Hugo’s rules today. It felt lovely. “Tell me what you see…and I’ll tell you my deepest desire.”

Hugo made a strange sound; it was halfway between a sob and a scream. Then he whirled in Scorpius’s arms and slapped him again. To be truthful, Scorpius thought he might have been hit harder this time than he had been the last time. “I fucking hate you, Malfoy!” Hugo hissed, tears gathering in his blue eyes, which seemed to burn with anger. “You’re a sadistic prick and I fucking hate you!”

When Hugo ran out of the attic, slamming the door at the base of the stairs behind him, Scorpius turned to glance back at the Mirror. Mirror-Scorpius still had Mirror-Hugo snuggled into his arms and they were both watching the real Scorpius with something akin to sadness and pity on their faces. Sighing, Scorpius told them. “He may have misunderstood me.”

Then he covered his face and laughed until he cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a ridiculously short chapter, and for that I apologize. But I really wanted the Mirror-revealing-scene to be in a chapter all by itself. And it sort of ended up short. So yeah. Sorry! Things will get really interesting soon, I promise. <3 And remember, comments make me happy! 
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Scorpius – not up to facing the collective Potter-Weasley family just yet – had gone home as soon as he’d managed to calm down. He’d had dinner with his parents and his grandmother, given them some of the gifts he’d picked up (others were being saved for Christmas), and gone to bed. The next day, he’d begged Narcissa to take him to London to complete his tattoo, telling her all about Hugo and the Mirror and just how badly he’d managed to mess everything up. Narcissa, being the devoted grandmother that she was – not to mention a former-Slytherin – was happy to give Scorpius the absolute best advice she could think of. Advice which Scorpius was none-too-keen on following.

‘Write to Seraphim. She’s in his House and is dating his cousin. Chances are, she can help.’ That was what Narcissa had told him. And Scorpius had done as she’d asked.

Seraphim,  
You know I wouldn’t write to you unless it was important. And it is. This is, in fact, the most important thing in my entire life. And I need your help. I’m sure by now Hugo has told someone – who in turn told the rest of the cousins, and then Freddie would have told you – all about my little blunder with the Mirror of Erised. But he misunderstood. What I saw in the Mirror was Hugo. I need him to listen to me long enough to explain.  
I know I may have already lost him, but it’s not in my nature to give up. I have to try. I can’t just walk away. Not unless I know for sure that there’s no way to salvage this. I love him, ‘Phim. So please, help me. I don’t want to lose him. Please.  
Your Friend,  
Score

When her reply came, two days after he sent her his owl and three days before he’d be returning to Hogwarts, it wasn’t quite what he’d been expecting.

Score,  
Once, you were my best friend. You and Minty, both. And I know you’ve never really forgiven me for choosing to go into Hufflepuff – which is, after all, my family’s House – instead of following you into Slytherin. I, however, forgave you a long time ago for abandoning me over my choice. What I find unforgivable, though, is your ability to dismiss the people you supposedly care about and then pick them back up again when you find it convenient to do so. When you either need them or something from them.  
I will not help you hurt Hugo. I won’t do it, Score. Not now, not ever. So just leave him alone. He offered himself, heart and soul, to you. You rejected him. You broke his heart. Then you had nerve enough to do it again. And a third time, though you call the last one a ‘misunderstanding’. Well, I don’t care who misunderstood what, Score. What I care about is Hugo. And you’ve made him cry far too many times. You’ve hurt him far too many times. And if you come within 15 feet of him, or our Common Room, I swear I’ll report you for stalking. I swear it on my life. Just go away.  
Seraphim

Scorpius debated for an entire day. Then, he sent an owl to Albus.

Al,  
I know I fucked up, okay? I get it. I do. But I love him and I just want a chance to tell him that. I just need 15 minutes with him; that’s all. If you can manage to get me 15 minutes, I’ll owe you forever. I swear I won’t hurt him. And I swear I’ll leave him alone after that, if that’s what he wants. Please, just help me with this. I’ve never asked you for anything, Allie. Not anything real. But I’m asking now. I need your help with this. Please. I don’t know who else to ask.  
‘Pi

Albus’s letter, which arrived the day before Scorpius had to board the Hogwarts’ Express, was short and very simple. And Scorpius had never been so grateful that the odd, bubbly, vivacious boy who had been Sorted just after him and assigned the bed next to his had decided to ignore two generations of enmity and become his best friend.

‘Pi,  
I’m lending you Dad’s Cloak. James is going to lend you the Marauder’s Map. It’ll tell you the password to the Hufflepuff Common Room and help you find Hugo’s bed. We’ll give you them on the train and I’ll cover for you if anyone notices you’re missing. I suggest hiding in the kitchens after the Feast until curfew, then sneaking in. Good luck.  
Al

Scorpius sat with Araminta and James and Albus for most of the train ride; part of it he spent making Prefect rounds, though he half-assed those for fear of getting his ass kicked by one of Hugo’s many cousins. As it was, none of the other Weasleys would enter their compartment and several of them shot cold looks through the door. Not that Scorpius blamed them. They were just trying to protect one of their own, after all. Just as the train reached Hogsmeade, James handed over the Map and Albus handed over the Cloak. Scorpius thanked them and tucked both items into his bag.

Araminta cupped his face in her hands and kissed each of his cheeks. “For luck.” She told him softly. Then she brushed his hair back from his face and commented almost absently. “You need a haircut there, ‘Pi; it’s getting long.”

“Hugo likes it longer.” Scorpius admitted, blushing a little. “I don’t…Merlin, I don’t even know how I know that, but I do.” He sounded slightly confused and very embarrassed. “I just…in the Mirror, my hair was long enough to hide my eyes if I tipped my head down and I just…I just know that Hugo likes it longer. He does.”

Araminta smiled softly and said. “Well, then, I’d say that’s a decent reason to keep it long.” She tugged on his school robes teasingly and asked. “Is that why you’re wearing jeans, then? Does Hugo prefer jeans to slacks?”

Scorpius rolled his eyes, chuckling. “I’ve got no idea, but my arse looks gorgeous in these jeans and I’m Slytherin enough to use whatever advantage I’ve got.”

Albus and James both laughed as they climbed into a carriage. Scorpius helped Araminta in, then followed. Araminta peeked out the window, and said softly. “The Thestrals seem especially beautiful tonight. It’s a shame none of you boys can see them.”

“Well, considering the requirements for seeing them, I’d have to disagree.” Albus told her with a roll of his eyes. Araminta had been present when her mother’s mother passed away, back when she was only 5. She had been able to see the Thestrals ever since. “But I do sometimes wish I could see them. Dad and Aunt Luna always say they’re beautiful, too.”

Scorpius smiled as Albus and Araminta bantered back and forth across the carriage, Araminta tucked snugly against James’s side, despite there being more than enough room. Araminta fit with James; she fit him and she fit his life and she fit his family. Lily and Albus both liked her a lot and so did most of their cousins; the exception, of course, was Dominique, but Domi disliked anyone she thought of as being more beautiful than her. Harry and Ginny adored Araminta and Scorpius knew that the day James brought her home as his fiancé for the first time, the Potters would welcome her with open arms.

And as they walked into the school and Araminta kissed James unabashedly before parting ways for their separate tables, Scorpius thought about the fact that Rose had always seemed to enjoy studying with him, even if they weren’t particularly close. And Hermione and Ron both seemed to like him well-enough. And his grandmother had loved Hugo when she’d met him on Scorpius’s birthday. And all of the cousins – excepting Louis, who didn’t like anyone who was immune to his Charm – had liked Scorpius a lot, before this whole mess had started. Hell, Albus was his best friend. And he thought about how easily he and Hugo had slipped into their yoga routine and how much he’d enjoyed Hugo’s easy smiles and constant blushing. He thought about how he’d smiled every time Hugo bumped a wall or tripped over nothing and how much he liked Hugo’s soft, stuttering laugh and the breathless way he often spoke.

And Scorpius knew, he just knew, that he couldn’t blow this. He couldn’t let Hugo stay mad at him. He had to win the little Hufflepuff over, not matter what. Because it might have taken him two months to figure out, but the fact was, Hugo fit him. He didn’t need someone brash and bold and confident; after 5 years of being best friends with Albus, Scorpius was those things himself. He needed someone who could soothe him when he was angry; someone soft-spoken and easygoing to offset his intensity. He didn’t need someone to protect him, because he was more than capable of protecting himself. And he desperately wanted to protect Hugo. And despite what he’d foolishly thought when he’d blown out his candles on his birthday, Scorpius knew the truth now.

He didn’t need a prince and he no longer wanted one. He just wanted his Puppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done posting! One more chapter to go. HURRAY! I really do adore this fic; it's been such a joy to write it. Comments make me happy. <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this ended up staying a soft, sweet, PG13 from start to finish. Which, I can assure you, was not the plan! I’ve had to adjust previous author’s notes accordingly. It also didn’t happen quite how I’d planned, since there was meant to be a big, public confrontation in the Great Hall. It just didn’t seem to fit, so I had to change the plan some. Nor does this include everything I’d intended to include, prior to finishing it. I just couldn’t seem to squeeze it all in there.
> 
> So…you know what that means! I’m planning on (eventually, not this second) writing a sequel. One that includes, but won’t be limited to scenes involving the following: custom-made silk pajamas for Hugo, Seraphim’s reaction, telling the parents, Scorpius and Hugo’s real first date, the boys actually having sex, and a little trip for Hugo to look into the Mirror of Erised. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my Hugo and Scorpius just as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about them and I hope to see you all again soon! Please remember that it only takes you a few moments to write a review, but reading it will put a smile on my face for the whole day! <3
> 
> ~ Lady S.

Scorpius parted the black and yellow striped bed curtains and felt his breath catch in his throat. As the map promised, the bed he’d picked was Hugo’s. He stood for a long moment, simply staring down at the sleeping boy. He looked so beautiful in his sleep…relaxed and peaceful and young. A softly-glowing orb hovered near the top of the headboard, gently illuminating Hugo’s pretty face. And then those blue eyes opened. Scorpius noted that Hugo didn’t actually look as though he’d been sleeping at all, which was when he remembered Hugo saying he always had trouble sleeping his first night back at school. Which would have been great to remember before now.

Acting quickly, Scorpius climbed onto the bed, jerked the curtains shut, and cast a silencing spell. He got it up just in time, too, because Hugo had recovered from his shock. “How dare you!” Hugo’s blue eyes snapped fire in the dim light of the orb as he snarled at Scorpius while sitting up. “Get out of here, right now, before I report you to Seraphim! Get out, get out, get out!”

Scorpius blinked at the shrill, distressed sound of Hugo’s voice and felt his heart twist. “I’m sorry.” He spoke softly, but firmly. “But I didn’t have much choice. I needed to speak to you; to explain. You misunderstood at the house…with the Mirror.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me about that!” His face was pale and miserable. “You’ve got no right, Malfoy! You have no right! I told you, didn’t I? I told you that you didn’t get to keep doing this to me and I meant it. I won’t let you keep ripping me apart like this!”

Scorpius decided talking wasn’t getting him very far and if there was one thing he’d learned from Al, it was that there was a time for talk and a time for action. He reached out, fisted both his hands in all of that thick, curly hair, and kissed Hugo. It wasn’t the tentative, curious kiss from their time in Egypt. No, Scorpius was through being cautious. He kissed Hugo like he meant it, crushing those soft, full lips under his almost desperately. When Hugo’s mouth opened on a sob, Scorpius thrust his tongue in. He pressed closer, sliding one of his hands down Hugo’s slim back.

Hugo’s hands came up against Scorpius chest and he pushed, shoving the blonde back. He blinked up at the Slytherin, one of his hands pressing against his mouth. He was breathing hard, his eyes wide and stunned. “Why…” Hugo lowered his hand slowly, flicking his tongue nervously over his lower lip. “Why would you kiss me like that?” Tears gathered in those blue eyes. “Why, when you know how I feel?”

Scorpius reached out and touched Hugo’s cheek lightly, his face soft. “Because I love you, Hugo. I was trying to tell you that in London, but you misunderstood.” Hugo made a small, keening noise. “You’re what I saw in the Mirror, Puppy.”

Hugo’s breath hitched and he searched the Slytherin’s face almost desperately. What he saw there had his hand pressing to his mouth again to stifle a relieved sob. Scorpius was telling him the truth. “Me?” He whispered, blinking back more tears. “You really saw me?”

“I really did.” Scorpius leaned forward and brushed his mouth over Hugo’s forehead. “You, in my arms, kissing me and telling me you loved me.” He moved back and, with his grey eyes dark and almost desperate, purred. “Think you can give me what I most desire, Hugo?”

With his cheeks burning, Hugo nodded shyly. “I suppose I might be able to. I love you, Scorpius.”

Then he leaned forward and brushed his mouth against Scorpius’s, feeling everything in him go warm and soft and shivery. And when Scorpius let out a soft, needy moan, Hugo felt all that warmth shoot straight into heat, that softness went edgy and sharp, and that shiver turned to need. He keened softly again and launched himself at Scorpius. His arms went around the Slytherin’s neck and he parted his lips. Scorpius didn’t hesitate; his tongue eagerly explored Hugo’s mouth. As he stroked his tongue over the roof of the younger teen’s mouth, he carefully guided Hugo backwards.

Hugo’s eyes opened and he broke the kiss, gasping, when he was suddenly on his back with Scorpius above him. He whimpered, then whined, as pale, slim fingers tangled in auburn hair and soft lips and a wicked tongue moved over his jaw and down his throat. He tipped his head back, shivering when Scorpius set his teeth gently to Hugo’s pulse. Then he moaned when the Slytherin’s full weight settled on top of him, nudging his legs apart and settling between them. It felt absolutely perfect, but Hugo was a Hufflepuff for a reason and he had a soft, sweet nature.

So he cupped Scorpius’s face in his hands and tugged him up until they were eye-to-eye. “Look, ‘Pi, I do love you, but…”

“But you’re the sort to want it slow and steady.” Scorpius said with a soft smile. He nodded, brushing his lips lightly over Hugo’s once more. “Alright then. That’s fine. I can wait, so long as I know you’re mine, for as long as you need.”

“I’m yours.” Hugo promised, stroking his fingers over Scorpius’s cheek. “I don’t think I’d ever have really been anyone else’s, even if you hadn’t decided you wanted me.”

“Realized, not decided.” Scorpius corrected smoothly. Hugo smiled widely and Scorpius leaned down to kiss the redhead’s enchanting dimple, like he’d wanted to in Egypt, and added. “You’re my heart’s desire, Hugo. That’s not a sudden thing. It’s just something it took me a bit to figure out.”

Hugo’s smile softened around the edges, his eyes going soft and warm and liquid. “Some people are just slower, I suppose, at figuring their feelings out. It’s alright, though. You were worth the wait.”

And Scorpius suddenly understood what Hermione had been asking him their last day in Egypt and he knew – he just knew – that she’d figured out he loved her son before he’d had any idea himself. And wasn’t that just a kick in the ass, to know that she’d known when he hadn’t? But it was okay; it was all okay. It didn’t matter who’d realized and who hadn’t, or if he’d been ridiculously stupid for a little while there. What mattered was that he loved Hugo and Hugo loved him back.

He lay down beside his little Hufflepuff-puppy, tugged Hugo into his arms, and whispered. “I’m staying the night, because I’m not ready to let you go just yet. Is that alright?”

Hugo smiled, snuggled closer to Scorpius’s chest and whispered back. “More than alright, ‘Pi. It’s just perfect.”

And it really, truly was.

And if either of our boys had been able to look into the Mirror of Erised at that precise moment, they’d have seen nothing but themselves, exactly as they were.


End file.
